The Hip Hop African

Congolese soukous and rumba artist, Koffi Olomide crossovers to hip-hop. He began his career alongside famous Congolese singer Papa Wemba and his band Viva La Musica as a songwriter and vocalist. Following the steps of his predecessor, he started his solo career and created his own band, Quartier Latin, which included famous singer, Fally Ipupa. Koffi has always had a youthful spirit, constantly indulging in fashion, and surrounded himself with Congolese youth to promote them and inspire his art. Since the genesis of Koffi’s career, he has captured the attention of those from his country and across the continent with his flow, melody, and dancers. He uses Lingala and other Congolese dialects to speak about love, drama, and being a boss. Koffi has always had his own swag that has been unmatchable to any artist in his genre. Koffi’s musical and fashion abilities have permitted him to be played across the continent and globally at parties, baby showers, and any event that needs his groove to bring a situation alive.

Now, you’re probably wondering “how did Koffi join the rap game?” In his recent song, “Biberon” he is wearing expensive clothes, wearing gold chains, flexing motorcycles, and being surrounded by the youth. However, being flashy is not something new to Koffi. In almost all of his music videos, he wears expensive and outrageous clothing and is surrounded by many young people. Koffi joining the hip-hop scene reveals his attempt to live out his youthful spirit and reinvent himself with popular music. Koffi shifting to hip-hop music could be a strategy to make a profit for himself. In his endeavor to join the music scene, he raps in French like many popular Congolese rappers from the diaspora, particularly from Belgium and France to grow his audience. In the song, he raps about being in a relationship and that the crowd that surrounds him is jealous of who he is with and how he is. This song received mixed reviews that demonstrated support and some stated he should stick to what he knows. But let’s see what Koffi has in store to further his music career.