“I realize that I represent a real revolution. It is not easy for a young black man to become a famous singer. I am happy to have succeeded, and I hope that my example shows that if you want to, you can reach anything,” says Stephane Legar, a young Israeli from Togolese background who is serving in the IDF. A model, singer and dancer, Legar is Israel’s latest social media sensation.
His song, « Comme ci- Comme ça », which everyone is Israel can’t stop singing, is a mix of French and Hebrew, a ‘Frebrew’ song. The new Israeli “rising star” already has a fully booked calendar for next year while he is still currently serving in the IDF (in a unit that prepares high school student for their mandatory army service).
Legar’s identity is a veritable mixture of worlds. Born in Israel, he was raised by his parents, diplomats who migrated from Togo 25 years ago. His mother tongue is French (Stephane said in interviews that he dreams and counts in French) yet he is fluent in Hebrew, Spanish, English, and Togolese. His passed all of his school years in Israeli schools in Hebrew in the city of Rishon Lezion.
His first video, released two years ago, “The Step Fun Challenge”, a kind of tutorial on how to dance in style, received 22 million hits and his Youtube Channel has reached more than 159, 000 subscribers. When posting the clip, he never anticipated it would be such a success.
Spending most of his holidays visiting his family in Togo, he loves to savor the calm and the good vibes that his home country exudes. “In Africa, technology is not as developed as in Israel, but people smile more. I love going around the streets of Lomé (Togo’s capital) and seeing everyone smiling, instead of looking down at their smartphones like they do here,” he said.
He’s proud to be a source of motivation especially for young people from African origin. As a Christian Israeli, Stephane is happy to celebrate the Jewish holidays with his friends, as well as Christmas. His dream is to open a music school in Togo, :” I love Israel, and I would like to bring some of Israel’s music technologies and skills to my parents’ home country. I hope one day I will succeed in doing that.”
Listen to his hit song but beware, you would not be able to get it out of your head... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuDfh4F0aKc