Ismaël Isaac

Real name Kaba Diakité Issiaka, Ivorian singer Ismaël Isaac was born in 1966 in Abidjan. Initially influenced by funk music, the young boy gradually turned to reggae after the death of Bob Marley in 1981 and the emergence of Alpha Blondy. He then chose an artist's name and tried his luck on various TV shows, but never succeeded in attracting attention. Finally, Georges Kouakou, keyboardist and arranger for the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne orchestra, was the first to be seduced by his talent. He insisted that Roger Fulgence Kassy, the station's emblematic presenter, program him on his Première chance show, as he had done earlier for Alpha Blondy. After this first experience, the spotlight began to fall on him. He released the albums Tchilaba, Yatiman and Rahman, in 1986, 1989 and 1990 respectively. Thanks to the latter, his fame reached France, where a contract with Island Records awaited him, inaugurated with the album Taxi Jump in 1993. But the adventure did not go beyond this record, and Ismaël Isaac waited until 1997 to release his successor, Treich Feeling in 1997. In 2000, he reunited with producer Ibrahima Sylla, who had already worked on Rahman in 1990, for the Syllart release of Black System. His successor, Je Reste, was not released until 14 years later.