Baloji (rapper)

Last updated

Baloji
Baloji (2020).jpg
Baloji in 2020
Background information
Born (1978-09-12) 12 September 1978 (age 45)
Lubumbashi, Zaïre (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Genres Pop rap
Occupation(s)Rapper, singer, songwriter, film director
Years active1998–present
LabelsDiscipline, Warner Music / EMI (with Starflam)
Website baloji.com

Baloji (born 12 September 1978) is a Belgian rapper and film director of Congolese origin. Known as MC Balo in the hip hop group Starflam, he continued as solo artist starting 2006. The name Baloji in Swahili translates to "man of science". [1] His film Omen was selected as the Belgian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. [2]

Contents

Career

Born out of wedlock to a Belgian father and a Congolese mother, he moved to Belgium at an early age with his father to live in Ostende, losing all contact with his mother. [3] Feeling estranged in his new environment and after disputes with his father and petty crimes and problems with police, he quit home and lived in a youth delinquent house working on his passion for rap and dance. [4] Alongside his friends, he started the hip hop band Starflam at age 15. [5] The band's self-titled debut album in 1998 was Starflam and the follow-up album Survivant released on Capitol / EMI in 2001 went platinum and was rereleased with a Survivant – Édition Spéciale in EMI the following year. In 2003, the band had yet another studio album Donne moi de l'amour. But after differences with the other members of the band, Baloji quit music in 2004.

After Baloji discovered a letter from his mother whom he hadn't seen since 1981, and after winning a poetry competition in Paris, France, he decided to return to music in 2006 as a solo artist. His debut solo album in 2008 entitled Hotel Impala was an autobiographical album about his life, including a hearty response to his mother's letter. "I made my first solo album for my mother, to explain what happened in my life during the 25 years after I left. I went back to give her the album and she did not really understand it. Let’s say it didn’t go very well", says Baloji. [6] The album was certified gold, with the album winning two "Octaves de la musique" awards as well as Rapsat-Lelièvre Award and Brassens Awards for Lyricists. [7] He followed it up with albums Kinshasa Succursale in 2011 and 64 Bits and Malachite in 2015.

His film "Omen" debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Un Certain Regard New Voice Prize. The film had 13 nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. [8] The film's soundtrack was released as a five-track EP with MCA Records. [9]

Discography

Baloji performing in 2016 Baloji - Les Ardentes 2016 (cropped).jpg
Baloji performing in 2016

Albums

As part of Starflam
Solo

Maxis and singles

As part of Starflam
Featured in

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011 Bullhead Patrick
2017How Camels Become LionsBaloji
2019ZombiesDirector
2019 Binti JovialNominated–Magritte Award for Most Promising Actor
2023 Omen Director, screenwriter

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Adamo</span> Belgian musician

Salvatore Knight 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. By 1964, he was the world's best-selling artist behind The Beatles. 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 375 albums and 275 singles, working with artists from all over the world.

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.

<i>Tricycle</i> (album) 1999 live album by Daniel Bélanger

Tricycle is the first live album by Québécois singer and musician Daniel Bélanger. The album was certified Gold by the CRIA in March 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stomy Bugsy</span> Musical artist

Gilles Duarte, better known by his stage name Stomy Bugsy, is a French rapper and actor from Sarcelles, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hélène Ségara</span> French singer (born 1971)

Hélène Ségara, born Hélène Aurore Alice Rizzo on 26 February 1971, is a French singer of Armenian and Italian descent, who came to prominence playing the role of Esmeralda in the French musical Notre Dame de Paris. She has sold over 10 million records.

<i>Mylenium Tour</i> 2000 live album by Mylène Farmer

Mylènium Tour is the third live album by Mylène Farmer, released on 5 December 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Sargue</span> French pop singer (born 1981)

Damien Sargue is a French pop singer and actor. He is best known for his role as Romeo in Gérard Presgurvic's Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour.

<i>Jenifer</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Jenifer Bartoli

Jenifer is Jenifer Bartoli's début album, released in 2002 in France, and in February 2007 in the U.S. It achieved success on the French and Belgian charts, reaching the top two in both. It spawned four successful singles, all of which were top ten hits in Jenifer's native country. The album was recorded in a mere three weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L'amour n'est rien...</span> 2006 single by Mylène Farmer

"L'amour n'est rien..." is a 2005 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. The song was released as the fourth single from Farmer's sixth studio album Avant que l'ombre... on 27 March 2006. "L'Amour n'est rien..." was illustrated by a music video which was perhaps one of the simplest in singer's career, and in which she performs a striptease. The song had some success in France, where it reached the top ten, but was especially successful in Russia where it was often aired on the radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Femme Like U (Donne-moi ton corps)</span> 2004 single by K.Maro

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frédéric François</span> Musical artist

Frédéric François, is a French-speaking singer-composer living in Belgium.

<i>Calogero</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Calogero

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.

Marc Liénart van Lidth de Jeude, known professionally as Art Sullivan, was a Belgian singer. He was successful in many countries, including Belgium, France, Portugal and Germany. Art Sullivan sold ten million records between 1972 and 1978. Compilations of his hits are still released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fally Ipupa</span> Musical artist

Fally Ipupa N'simba, known professionally as Fally Ipupa, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, philanthropist, guitarist, and producer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Rumba", he is noted for his soulful and mellow tenor vocals, as well as his blend of contemporary and traditional Congolese music genres, including Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. His lyrics often encapsulate universal themes of romance, suffering, and joy.

<i>Indépendance Cha Cha</i> 1960 song by LAfrican Jazz

"Indépendance Cha Cha" was a song performed by Joseph Kabasele from the group L'African Jazz in the popular African Rumba style. The song has been described as "Kabasele's most memorable song" and one of the first Pan-African hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammy Baloji</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scred Connexion</span> French rap collective

Scred Connexion is a French rap collective launched in the 1990s composed by Fabe, Koma, Haroun, Mokless and Morad, with the assistance of Butch. Fabe decided to quit his rapping career in 2000 and quit the collective after releasing one additional solo album.

<i>Omen</i> (2023 film) 2023 Belgian film

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 Un Certain Regard on 23 May 2023, where it won New Voice Prize.

References

  1. Vourlias, Christopher (26 May 2023). "Congolese Belgian Rapper-Turned-Filmmaker Baloji Looks for Good 'Omen' With Cannes Debut". Variety. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  2. Roxborough, Scott (14 September 2023). "Oscars: Belgium Picks 'Omen' as International Feature Submission". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  3. Roxborough, Scott (2 July 2023). "Karlovy Vary: 'Omen' Director Baloji on Telling Stories From an African Perspective". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  4. Libre, La (8 December 2023). "La Libre.be - Suivez en direct toute l'actualité belge et internationale, économique et culturelle". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. "Screening at Cannes: Baloji's 'Omen' Explores Family and Culture Through Magical Realism". Observer. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. "Baloji on his EP's re-release and reasserting his creative freedom". TRUE Africa. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. Crammed: Baloji biography (in French)
  8. Ntim, Zac (24 October 2023). "UTA Signs Baloji, Director Of Belgium's Oscar Pick 'Omen'". Deadline. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  9. Ntim, Zac (30 November 2023). "Baloji Releases 'Omen' Soundtrack; Ellie Kemper To Narrate Katherine Center Audiobook; European Film Awards Craft Honors — Global Briefs". Deadline. Retrieved 8 December 2023.