Tiken Jah Fakoly

Doumbia Moussa Fakoly, known by his stage name Tiken Jah Fakoly, was born on June 23, 1968 in Odiennée, in the northwest of Côte d'Ivoire. His discovery of reggae at a young age came as a shock and shaped his career. He decided to form his first band, Djelys, around 1987, and began performing in his region. Just as the group was making a name for itself, thanks in particular to an appearance as support act for Côte d'Ivoire reggae star Solo Jah Gunt, Djelys took part in the Marlboro Rockin' competition, which gave them greater exposure. A first album, Les Djelys, was released in 1993, followed by a second, Missiri, with which Tiken Jah Fakoly gained in musical maturity. His album Mangercratie, released in 1996, brought him to a more international audience, taking him to the French stage, and in 2000 to the RFI Découverte Afrique award. After a new album in 2000, Cours d'Histoire, tours became more extensive, and a deal with Barclay gave the singer more financial means to perform. Tiken Jah Fakoly recorded Françafrique in 2002 at the famous Tuff Gong Studio in Jamaica, and his image grew in the reggae sphere, particularly in the French-speaking world. His committed lyrics criticizing the failings of Ivorian society earned him threats and forced him into exile, between Bamako and Paris. Alongside Alpha Blondy and Ismaël Isaac, Tiken Jah Fakoly continues to promote Ivorian reggae around the world, with the regular release of albums such as Coup De Gueule (2004), L'Africain (2007), Le Caméléon (2008) and African Revolution (2010), and concerts at major events (Les Vieilles Charrues, La Fête de L'Humanité, Dour, Sziget, African Reggae Festival...). He has collaborated with a number of French-speaking artists, including Zebda, Féfé, Jeanne Cherhal and Sinsemilia, and has evolved his reggae by incorporating more traditional instruments. He teamed up with Alpha Blondy for a track ("Réconciliation", 2013), then campaigned for the promotion of agriculture in Africa, or addressed African peoples directly on his album Dernier Appel (2014). In 2015, the album Racines returned to the basics of roots reggae, with covers of classics by Bob Marley, Junior Murvin or Peter Tosh, and the participation of genre figures such as Ken Boothe, U-Roy or Max Romeo. Over the years, Tiken Jah Fakoly has become a fixture on the reggae scene in the 2000s, and continues to compose and take part in contemporary debates, such as on ecology or the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 with the song "Corona". Back in 2022 with the political Braquage de Pouvoir, he released the album Acoustic in 2024, followed by two live recordings, Live Salle Pleyel (2025) and Chorales (2026), featuring Bernard Lavilliers.