Starflam is a Belgian hip hop group from Liège in the French-speaking southern part of Belgium - Wallonia. The group started out in the early 1990s under the name H-Posse with members DJ Mig One, Fred'alabas, Seg and Balo. A few years later, after Brussels-born Akro and Mista R. joined the group, the name was changed to Malfrats Linguistiques. Mista R. later left the group when he emigrated to France, and was replaced by Kaer and Pavé, 2 rappers from Liège. The group changed names again, now to Starflam. They now consist of 5 rappers, a bass player and a DJ. In 2005, Balo left the group to start a solo career.
Salvatore Adamo is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual citizenship. Through his career, he sold more than 80 million albums and 20 million singles worldwide, making him the best-selling Belgian artist of all time, and one of the most commercially successful musicians in the world.
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 400 albums and 300 singles, working with artists from all over the world.
Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba, known professionally as Koffi Olomidé, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and founder of Quartier Latin International. Often referred to as the "King of Ndombolo", he is noted for his explosive high notes, deep, throaty baritone, and offbeat voice. Agbepa is considered one of the most significant figures in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music. His lyrics often explore themes of love, politics, technology, success, infidelity, religion, chicanery, and disillusionment. Through his music and stage performances, he introduced the slower style of soukous known as tcha tcho and popularized a flamboyant fashion subculture called La Sape, alongside Papa Wemba.
Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu, better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a leading African rumba singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the leader of Orchestre Afrisa International, as well as one of Africa's most influential vocalists and prolific songwriters. Along with guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley pioneered soukous and internationalised his music by fusing elements of Congolese folk music with Cuban, Caribbean and Latin American rumba. He has been described as "the Congolese personality who, along with Mobutu, marked Africa's 20th century history." He was dubbed "the African Elvis" by the Los Angeles Times. After the fall of the Mobutu regime, Tabu Ley also pursued a political career. His musical career ran parallel to the other great Congolese rhumba bandleader and rival Franco Luambo Makiadi who ran the band TPOK Jazz throughout the 1960s, 1970s and '80s.
"Femme Like U " more commonly known as "Femme Like U" is a 2004 song recorded by Canadian artist Cyril Kamar, better known under the name of K.Maro. The song was released as the first single from his album La Good Life, on May 8, 2004. It achieved a huge success in many countries in Europe, including France, Belgium and Switzerland, where it topped their charts, being thus one of the summer hits. As of August 2014, the song was the 14th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 633,000 units sold.
Staff Benda Bilili are a group of street musicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They used to live around the grounds of the zoo in the country's capital city, Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in soukous, with elements of old-school rhythm and blues and reggae. The core of the band consists of four senior singers/guitarists, who are paraplegic and move around in spectacularly customized tricycles. They are backed by a younger rhythm section consisting of abandoned street children who were taken under the protection of the older members of the band. The soloist is an 18-year-old boy (2009) who plays guitar-like solos on an electrified one-stringed lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. The group's name translates roughly from Lingala as "look beyond appearances".
Calogero is the name of the second studio album recorded by the French singer and songwriter Calogero. It was released in 2002 and achieved a great success, notably when the next album, 3, came out.
Daniel Lévi was a French singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist.
Ali Fitzgerald Moore, better known by his stage name Big Ali, is an American singer, rapper, and DJ born in New York. He has been based in Paris, France, since 2001. He is signed to Up Music, a Warner Music label.
Fally Ipupa N'simba, known professionally as Fally Ipupa, is a Congolese musician and dancer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Rumba", he is noted for his tenor vocals as well as his blend of contemporary and traditional Congolese music genres, including Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. His lyrics often cover themes of romance, suffering, and joy.
Stone et Charden is a famous French musical duo made up of Éric Charden and his then-wife Annie Gautrat known as Stone
"Indépendance Cha Cha" was a song performed by Joseph Kabasele from the group L'African Jazz in the popular Congolese rumba style. The song has been described as "Kabasele's most memorable song" and one of the first Pan-African hits.
Sammy Baloji is a photographer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He works in Lubumbashi and Brussels, and held exhibitions in Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Bilbao, Cape Town and Bamako.
Marc Zinga is a Congolese-Belgian actor, singer and filmmaker. For his performance in May Allah Bless France, he was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actor.
Tokooos is the fourth studio album by Congolese singer Fally Ipupa. It was released on July 7, 2017, by Elektra France, Warner Music France. After having established himself as a continental superstar singer in Africa with his first three albums solos, all produced by David Monsoh, Fally now wanted to open up to the French and more generally Western record market. Ipupa will be signed in 2013 by Julien Creuzard on the AZ label. But in 2016, Julien Creuzard left AZ to found the new label Elektra France, Fally is now under the label Elektra France.
Héritier Bondongo Kabeya, known professionally as Héritier Watanabe or simply Héritier Wata, is a Congolese singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, and bandleader. He is the founder of the Kinshasa-based orchestra Team Wata. An influential figure in fifth-generation Congolese rumba, Kabeya began singing at 10 years old and soon joined JB Mpiana's Wenge BCBG for practice and public appearances, seeking membership but was eventually repudiated.
Omen is a 2023 drama film written and directed by Belgian-Congolese director Baloji. Starring Marc Zinga, Lucie Debay and Eliane Umuhire, it premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section on 23 May 2023, where it won the New Voice Prize.
Love According to Dalva is a 2022 Belgian-French film directed by Emmanuelle Nicot in her feature debut. It follows a 12-year-old girl who is taken away from her sexually abusive father and struggles to adjust to her new life in a foster home.
The 13th Magritte Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie André Delvaux, honored the best films of 2023 in Belgium. It took place on 9 March 2024, at the Théâtre National, in the historic site of Marais-Jacqmain, Brussels. During the ceremony, the Académie André Delvaux presented Magritte Awards in 23 categories. The ceremony was televised in Belgium by La Trois. Actor Bouli Lanners presided the ceremony, while director Patrick Ridremont hosted the show for the second time.
