Youssoupha

The son of Congolese rumba pioneer Tabu Ley Rochereau, French rapper Youssoupha Mabiki (August 29, 1979) grew up in Kinshasa and later relocated to Paris at the age of 10 to continue his education. There, he developed a taste for hip-hop and soon started to write his own rhymes. After obtaining a master’s degree in communication at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, Youssoupha made his official debut with the trio Frères Lumières and then joined the rap collective called Bana Kin alongside Sinistre Kozi Philo and Mic Genie. The success of his 2005 street DVD Éternel Recommencement caught the attention of the label Hostile, who released his studio debut À Chaque Frère in 2007. The album, which featured guest spots by Diam’s, Kool Shen, S’Pi, and Mike Génie, peaked at Number 32 on the French charts and was certified gold shortly after. In the following years, he went on to release a string of highly successful, politically-charged albums such as Sur les Chemins du Retour (2009), Noir Désir (2012), and NGRTD (2015), which earned him a nomination to the Victoires de la Musique Awards 2016 in the category of Best Urban Music Album. In 2018, he returned with a fifth album titled Polaroïd Experience, which was followed by Neptune Terminus in 2021. Preceded by lead single “Kash,” the LP included collaborations with Lefa, Dinos, Gaël Faye, Jos'Man, Imani, and Jok'Air.