Inna Modja | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Inna Bocoum [1] |
| Born | May 19, 1984 |
| Origin | Bamako, Mali |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Warner Music Group |
| Website | www |
Inna Bocoum, also known as Inna Modja (born May 19, 1984), is a Malian-French female singer [2] and model. "Modja" means "bad, not good" in Fulfulde. [3] [4]
Born on May 19, 1984, in Bamako, Mali, in a Fula family, the sixth of seven children, Inna Bocoum owes her artist name to her mother, who gave her the nickname of Inna Modja, which means "Inna is bad" or "Inna is not good" in Fulfulde. Her mother tongue is Bambara. [2] When she was six, her parents enrolled her in a choir. At home, her father encouraged her to progress by playing her some records he liked (artists such as Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Otis Redding, Sarah Vaughan). She was also influenced by her older siblings, who transitioned into Thrash Punk, '80/'90s Rap, Heavy Metal periods, in addition to Blues, Soul and Disco. As a teenager, she still alternated between Hard Rock and love songs. She regularly visited her neighbour, Salif Keita, who invites her to be part of the Rail Band of Bamako, a group of swinging old men (Bossa Nova and Jazz), amongst whom he himself debuted.
She speaks against female genital mutilation, as she herself and her four sisters were circumcised without their parents' approval, an event she sang about in one of her songs. She since had reconstructive surgery by Ghada Hatem-Gantzer. [5] She's also outspoken against violence against women, which she portrayed in the music video of her song "La Valse de Marylore."
She was very impressed by Janet Jackson as a role model. [2] She settled on a Pop and Soul sound. After appearing on a Fête de la Musique special TV show produced by France 2 singing a duet with Jason Mraz on his song "Lucky", Inna Modja opened for Sliimy on several of his shows. She released her first single, "Mister H", which is included on her first album "Everyday is a New World", itself released in October 2009. She supported it with appearances on several TV shows, including "Vivement Dimanche" and "Taratata".
She made a comeback in June 2011 with her new single "French Cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)". It quickly became one of the biggest Summer hits of 2011 in France and went No. 4 on the SNEP French Singles Chart. She followed this success with "La Fille du Lido", the second single off her second album "Love Revolution" which was released on November 7. She participated to the annual Téléthon, which benefits the French Association Against Myopathies. The music video for the third single, "I Am Smiling" (February 2012), was entirely made from videos from her fans.
She contributed a cover of "Souris Puisque C'est Grave" on Alain Chamfort's cover album Elles & Lui (2012), and lent her voice to the charity single "Je Reprends Ma Route", to benefit the association "Les Voix de l'enfant".
In 2018 she was part of the re-imagining, at Laurent Ruquier's inspiration, of Claude Bolling's Les Parisiennes.
Modja is a Goodwill Amabassador for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). In 2024 she and Ricky Kej, who is a fellow musician and ambassador, released the song "Her Land". The somg was to raise the profile of the UNCCD's campaign to increase the ownership of land by women. [6] She is also a co-founder of Code Green, an NGO that supports social and climate justice. [7] [8]
| Years | Title | Positions | Certification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA | BEL | |||
| 2009 | Everyday Is a New World | 56 | — | |
| 2011 | Love Revolution | 28 | 98 | FRA: Gold |
| 2015 | Motel Bamako [2] | 55 | — | |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (WA) [9] | CAN [10] | FRA [11] | SWI [12] | |||
| 2009 | "Mister H" | — | — | — | — | Everyday Is a New World |
| 2010 | "Life" | — | — | — | — | Love Revolution |
| 2011 | "French Cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)" | 6 | 55 | 4 | 60 | |
| "La fille du Lido" | — | 86 | 82 | — | ||
| 2012 | "I Am Smiling" | — | 83 | — | — | |
| 2014 | "Forgive Yourself" | — | — | 129 | — | Motel Bamako |
| "I Want Your Sex" (Inna Modja & the Woodboyz) | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015 | "Tombouctou" | — | — | 147 | — | |
In 2023, she was nominated for the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award by Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim. [8]
In December 2024, Inna Modja was included on the BBC's 100 Women list. [7]
The music of Mali is, like that of most West African nations, ethnically diverse, but one influence predominates: that of the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka. Mande people make up around 50% of Mali's population; other ethnic groups include the Fula (17%), Gur-speakers 12%, Songhai people (6%), Tuareg and Moors (10%).
Baaba Maal is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July 2003, he was made a UNDP Youth Emissary.
Afel Bocoum is a musician from Mali, noted as a singer and guitarist. He began his career as a member of Ali Farka Touré's group ASCO, and Toure is often regarded as his mentor. Both men come from the town of Niafunke on the River Niger, and are members of the Sonrai people. Bocoum is an agricultural advisor by profession.
Oumou Sangaré is a Malian Wassoulou singer of Fulani (Fula) descent. She is often referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the music descends from age-old traditional song, often accompanied by a calabash.
Fula, also known as Fulani or Fulah, is a Senegambian language spoken by around 36.8 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stretches across some 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Along with other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic geographic group within Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian branch. Unlike most Niger-Congo languages, Fula does not have tones.
Arielle Dombasle is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough roles were in Éric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach (1983) and Alain Robbe-Grillet's The Blue Villa (1995). She has worked with a wide variety of filmmakers, including Werner Schroeter on Two (2002), Philippe de Broca on Amazon (2000), Roman Polanski on Tess (1979), Jean-Pierre Mocky on Crédit pour tous (2011) and Raoul Ruiz on Savage Souls (2001). She also starred in the 1984 ABC miniseries Lace and its 1985 sequel Lace II and appeared as a guest on Miami Vice. Dombasle has released thirty-four singles and eleven albums and has directed six movies.
"She" is a song written by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer and released as a single sung by Aznavour in 1974. The song was written in English as a theme tune for the British TV series Seven Faces of Woman.
"Fuck Them All" is a 2005 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. Released on 14 March 2005, it was the lead single from her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre.... Like all tracks from the album, the lyrics were written by the singer with music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. "Fuck Them All" combines pop music elements with acoustic guitar, electronic beats and synths, with a musical bridge sung as a rap in English. As a result, it is often compared to Madonna's early 2000s songs. Using both crude and colorful lyrics, including sex and vulgarity, the song deals with the war between the sexes and was often considered a feminist plea in which women are presented as warriors.
"Vivo per lei" is a 1995 song recorded by Italian artist Andrea Bocelli as a duet with Italian singer Giorgia, released on his album Bocelli. The song was also released as a duet with other female artists, including Marta Sánchez in Spanish and Latin American countries; Hélène Ségara in francophone countries; Judy Weiss in German-speaking countries; Sandy in Brazilian Portuguese; and Bonnie Tyler in English under the title "Live for Love", though due to record company disputes their version was never released. The English version of the song was performed with Heather Headley and was released on Bocelli's live album Vivere Live in Tuscany.
"Hot" is the debut single by Romanian singer Inna, released on 12 August 2008. It is from her debut studio album of the same name (2009). The song was written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. Musically, "Hot" is a trance-inspired electro house and popcorn song, with its instrumentation consisting of synthesizer sounds and trance beats. Throughout the track, the hook is repeated multiple times, and male vocals are used to complement Inna.
"Sun Is Up" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her second studio album, I Am the Club Rocker (2011), and also included on several versions of her debut album Hot (2009). Written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan, the song was released in October 2010 as the first single from I Am the Club Rocker. "Sun Is Up" is a rave pop track, and was compared to Sabrina's "Boys " (1987) by one reviewer.
"Endless" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her second studio album, I Am the Club Rocker (2011). The song was released on 25 November 2011 as the fourth single from the album. It was written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. A flamenco-influenced mid-tempo club-ballad, "Endless" features an acoustic and Spanish guitar in its instrumentation.
Ram Gyan "Ricky" Kej is an Indian music composer and environmentalist and a three-time Grammy Award winner. Kej has been nominated a fourth time at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards for his album 'Break of Dawn'. He has performed at venues in over 35 countries including at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva. In October 2023, Kej was announced as a UN "Goodwill Ambassador" (UNCCD) at the United Nations General Assembly by then President, Csaba Körösi.
"Cola Song" is a song recorded by Romanian recording artist Inna for Body and the Sun (2015), the Japanese counterpart of her fourth studio album Inna (2015), and the American counterpart of her third studio album, Party Never Ends. It was made available for digital download on 15 April 2014 through Atlantic Records, which was the result of the singer signing a record deal with the label earlier that year. Initially planned to be named "Soy Latinna", the recording contains guest vocals from Colombian reggaeton performer J Balvin, who wrote and produced the song along with Andrew Frampton, Breyan Isaac, Thomas Joseph Rozdilsky and Andreas Schuller. The single is musically an electro house, electronic and Latin track which incorporates saxophone and horn in its instrumentation, and elements from Inna's previous collaboration with Schuller on "Piñata 2014" (2013).
Dua Lipa is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Time magazine included her in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Aya Coco Danioko, known professionally as Aya Nakamura, is a French-Malian singer-songwriter. She began publishing her music online, gaining a following with the songs "Karma" and "J'ai mal". Dembo Camara, a longtime friend, became her producer and manager. Her song "Brisé" garnered traction on YouTube, and a duet with rapper Fababy, "Love d'un voyou", resulted in her charting in France for the first time. She released her debut album, Journal intime, in 2017, followed in 2018 by Nakamura, which was certified diamond in France and has sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide. The album spawned the hit singles "Djadja" and "Copines" and launched the singer's international career. The same year, she beat the record held by Édith Piaf since 1961 as the most-listened-to French-speaking female artist in the Netherlands.
"Gimme Gimme" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her fifth studio album, Nirvana. It was made available for digital consumption as the record's first single on 1 February 2017 through Roton and Global Records. The recording was written by Inna, Breyan Isaac and Elena Luminița Vasile, along with its producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan and David Ciente. A pop song with Bollywood, Indian and Gyspy influences, "Gimme Gimme" features "simple but meaningful" romantic lyrics.
"Nirvana" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her fifth studio album of the same name (2017). It was made available for digital download on 28 November 2017 by Global Records, as the record's third single. The track was written by Inna and Thomas Troelsen, while production was handled by Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, David Ciente, Vlad Lucan and Troelsen. Musically, "Nirvana" is a Latin-influenced club song, featuring a rap delivered in Spanish during its drop.
Yo is the sixth studio album by Romanian singer Inna, released on 31 May 2019 by Global Records and Roc Nation. Inna began work on the record in 2016; inspired by a recent trip to Latin America, she decided the album would feature only Spanish language material. Inna contributed significantly to the songwriting process of Yo, and collaborated extensively with Romanian producer David Ciente on its songs. An experimental and heavily gypsy music-influenced effort, Yo marks the first time Inna took control over an album's creative process; it acts as a departure from her past EDM releases. Lyrically, Inna sings about love, and presents several female characters seen from different perspectives throughout the album.
SEAY is an American award-winning New-age music artist and humanitarian who has gained prominence as both a vocalist and composer. She has released multiple recordings, many of which have received awards and nominations. Her 2016 release In the Garden featuring collaborations with Grammy Award winners Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman charted on the Billboard New Age albums chart for five weeks peaking at #3 and won the Zone Music Reporter best vocal album of the year.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
