Henri Dikongué

Life and career

Dikongué was born in Douala to a family of musicians. He attended a music school in Paris, where he attempted unsuccessfully to release his first album. He started a music and acting troupe and worked with actor Martin Yog and musicians Alfred M'Bongo and Manuel Wandji, as well as Maranatha, a South African chorus.

After finally choosing to settle in Paris in 1989, he perfected his skills with classical guitar and collaborated with African musicians such as Manu Dibango and Papa Wemba. In 1995 he released his first album, Wa. His music mixes elements from makossa, bikutsi, reggae and rumba. He sings in his native tongue, Duala.

His second album, C'est la Vie, was released in 1997 (in the US under the Tinder Records label) and sold about 10,000 copies. Between 1997 and 1998, he toured Germany and the United States.

His third album, N'oublie jamais, was released in 2000. This album incorporated more musical styles such as reggae and flamenco, but the album wasn't as successful as his previous works.

Discography

Wa (1995)

C'est la Vie (1997)

N'oublie jamais (Never forget) (2000)

Biso Nawa (2005)

Diaspora (2016)

Derrière ton masque (2023)