Makossa is a music genre originating in Douala, Littoral Region, French Cameroons in the late 19th century. Like much other music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. Makossa uses guitar accompaniments, in the forms of solo and rhythm guitar, with a main singer and a choir of backup singers, with the focus being on the texture of the guitar, the role it plays in the song, the relationship between it and other instruments, the lyrical content and languages sung as well as their relationship with the music, the uses of various percussion instruments, including the bottle, the groove of the bass as well as the drums, and the use of technical knowledge and microprocessors to make the music. It is in common time (4/4) for the vast majority of cases. Language-wise, it is typically sung in French, Duala or Pidgin English. Tempo-wise, it is typically in between 130 and 170 BPM. It traditionally consisted of guitar-picking techniques that borrows from bikutsi; with a guitar-structure of a guitar switching from solo to rhythm from assiko; supplanted with complex bass grooves, and gradually picked up on brass section, from funk and later in the 70s, string section, from disco. It along with this acquired the sebene from Congolese rumba. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a lesser extent abroad. It is considered to be one of the greatest Cameroonian and even African "adventures" as a music.
Emmanuel N'Djoké "Manu" Dibango was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father was a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, while his mother was a Duala. He was best known for his 1972 single "Soul Makossa".The song has been referred to as the most sampled African song in addition Dibango, himself, as the most sampled African musician in history. He died from COVID-19 on 24 March 2020.
Francis Bebey was a Cameroonian musicologist, writer, composer, and broadcaster.
Sauti Sol is a Kenyan Afropop band formed in Nairobi in 2005 by vocalists Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi. Initially an a cappella group, guitarist Polycarp Otieno joined before they named themselves Sauti Sol.
Collins Ngoran Fai is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Serbian club Radnički Niš and the Cameroon national team. Mainly a right back, he can also operate as a left back.
Ndukong Godlove Nfor, known by his stage name Jovi, is a Cameroonian rapper, songwriter, sound engineer, entrepreneur, and record producer. Jovi graduated from the University of Yaoundé II (Soa), with a BA Hons in Economics and Business Management.
Stanley Ebai Enow is a Cameroonian rapper, and music producer. He is the co-owner of the record label, Motherland Empire. Enow is best known for his 2013 single "Hein Père". He was the first Cameroonian to win in the Best New Act category at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards.
Anacle Michael Ghounam Kiessou better known by his stage name Michael Kiessou is a Cameroonian singer and entertainer. He came to wide public attention with his song Bennam. from his debut EP Partage released on 2 April 2014. Twice-nominated for the Canal 2'Or Act 10, he won the Best video award with Tourner les reins. and Best Male Artist at the 2015 GreenLights Awards.
Partage is an album that was released by the Cameroonian singer Michael Kiessou on April 2, 2014, worldwide. A deluxe version of the EP was released worldwide on August 29, 2015, and was distributed by Sony Music Entertainment via The Orchard (company). The EP is a walk of more than an hour in the heart of African rhythms revisited and modernized by Michael and his team Kiessou orchestration. Thereby emerge new musical variations such the Kwatt'nB & the Neo Bend-skin. Alongside these crossbreeding, Michael browsed through new genres from elsewhere as Afropop and even Electronic dance music.
Hope Music Group is a Cameroonian record label that mainly produces hip hop, urban & popular music. It is distributed by The Orchard, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. The label produces and distributes various artists as Locko, J-Rio, Fanicko, Dynastie le tigre, Michael Kiessou, Featurist, Duc-Z and record labels as White House Music, Tiger Production, MKO Music.
Hope Music Group was founded by Philippe Nkouaya in 2012. The label's first release was a mixtape by his music producer Philjohn.
Mohammed Djetei Camara is a Cameroonian footballer who plays for Spanish club Albacete Balompié and the Cameroon national team as a central defender.
Mboko God is the second full-length studio album by Cameroonian rapper and producer Jovi, released May 20, 2015. Entirely self-produced under his producer alias, "Le Monstre", Jovi composed, recorded, and mixed the album in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
H.I.V is the debut album of the Cameroonian rapper and producer Jovi, released August 31, 2012. Entirely self-produced under his producer alias, "Le Monstre", Jovi composed, recorded, and mixed the album in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The album blends instrumentation and rhythms from traditional Cameroonian genres with Western hip hop beats and style, as well as influences from pop, rock, electronic and industrial genres, and includes samples from African musicians Tabu Ley Rochereau and Eko Roosevelt. H.I.V received critical acclaim for its use of punchlines, rhyming, and wordplay in Pidgin English, mixed with English and French. Jovi’s H.I.V album was highly anticipated in Cameroon following the release of his debut video “Don 4 Kwat” on October 14, 2011, which is seen as re-energizing the hip hop scene in Cameroon, which had largely been dormant and dominated by Bikutsi and Makossa genres. Originally released on iTunes for sale, the album was removed after one year, and became available for free download on Bandcamp on September 12, 2013, according to the website, as a "special edition of Jovi's debut album."
The Japoma Stadium is a 50,000-capacity all-seater multi-purpose stadium in Douala, Cameroon. It is part of a sports complex that also consists of an indoor arena for basketball, handball, futsal and volleyball, tennis courts and an 8-lane Olympic-size swimming pool, as well as conference and commercial centres, a hotel and a parking lot. The stadium also has an athletic track.
Tendon is the first studio album by the Cameroonian artist Reniss. Released by New Bell Music on 24 October 2016, Tendon is a ten-song album, featuring Reniss' hit song "La Sauce." The album was produced by Jovi under his pseudonym "Le Monstre." "Michael Jackson", "La Sauce", and "Pilon" were released as singles for the album. Reniss sings in multiple languages on the album, including English, French, Pidgin, and Ngeumba.
16 Wives is the third full-length studio album by Cameroonian rapper, composer, and producer, Jovi. Released on Bandcamp on February 16, 2017, the 16-song album was produced by Jovi under his pseudonym, Le Monstre. 16 Wives was recorded, mixed, and mastered at New Bell Music Studios in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and released on his record label New Bell Music. The album was listed as a best-seller on Bandcamp during its first week of sales, and released on iTunes and other digital platforms on February 24, 2017.
Nde Ndifonka, popularly known by his stage name Wax Dey, is a Cameroonian singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and social activist. He won Best Male Artist in Central Africa at the 2016 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). He owns a record label called Calabash Music. In December 2015, he released the Yemi Alade-assisted "Saka Makossa" and pays tribute to the Makossa music genre. Wax Dey is also the Producer and main actor of Cameroonian reality TV contest, Number One Girl, which airs on Equinox TV.
Adèle Ruffine Ngono, known by her stage name Lady Ponce, is a Cameroonian singer and songwriter. She is also known as "La Reine de Bikutsi". In 2014, Ngono was named a knight of the Order of Valour.
Afrikan Sauce is the fourth studio album by Kenyan band Sauti Sol, released on their eponymous record label Sauti Sol Entertainment. Primarily an Afropop and R&B record, Afrikan Sauce marked a departure from the traditional acoustic sound of their previous albums. It features guest appearances from Patoranking, Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, Vanessa Mdee, Yemi Alade, Khaligraph Jones, Nyashinski, Bebe Cool, Mi Casa, Toofan, Jah Prayzah and C4 Pedro. The album comprises 13 tracks and was supported by the previously released singles "Melanin", "Girl Next Door", "Afrikan Star", "Short N Sweet" and "Tujiangalie". Afikan Sauce received positive reviews from music critics, who characterized it as a "game changer" and commended it for having "substantial replay value". The album won Album of the Year in Africa at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards.
Laetitia Laure Nsoutou, better known as her stage name Lor is a Cameroonian rapper, singer-songwriter, actress, animator, and multi-instrumentist. Her Extended Play (EP) Dawn, is according to Samuel Lacmene, founder of Stillac, "an album that exudes freshness", where she "managed to send strong messages, but above all to transmit emotions through her particular vocal timbre".
