Recognized worldwide as a leader of the movement to popularize jeel, Hakim is an innovator who has revolutionized the genre of sha’bi. His music adds…
Artist Profiles: Hakim
Category: Artist Profiles
Artist Profiles: Fatma Zidan
Denmark-based Egyptian singer Fatma Zidan was the winner of the Danish World Awards in 2008 and 2010. Although she trained as a classical harp player,…
Artist Profiles: Fatoumata Diawara
Fatoumata Diawara (a.k.a. Fatou) was born of Malian parents in the Ivory Coast in 1982. As a child she became a member of her father’s…
Artist Profiles: Sekouba Diakite
Sekouba Diakite originates from Odienne (the Republic of Ivory Coast). Like his elder brother Isaac Ismael, Sekouba also sings in Malinke, Bambara, Diula, English, and…
Artist Profiles: Robert Maseko
Born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and raised in the UK, Robert Maseko is part of the new wave…
Artist Profiles: M’bilia Bel
Soukous singer M’bilia Bel, known as the Queen of Congolese rumba, was born in 1959 and brought up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.…
Artist Profiles: Lokua Kanza
Lokua Kanza was born in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire). His father is one of the Mongo people, known for…
Artist Profiles: Kiala Nzavotunga
Afrobeat master Kiala Nzavotunga is a founding member of the band Ghetto Blaster (1984 – 2006) and Fela Kuti’s band. Kiala Nzavotunga was born in…
Artist Profiles: Papa Wemba
Papa Wemba was born Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in Kazai, in the former Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). From humble village beginnings in…
Artist Profiles: Njacko Backo
Njacko Backo is a percussionist and singer. He was born in 1958 in the hillside village of Bazu, Cameroon. After studying under his village elders…