Koffi Olomide - Biography
By J Poet
Koffi Olomide is a Congolese guitarist, singer and songwriter credited with injecting new life into the popular music called soukous, one of the most popular forms of dance music in West Africa. He wrote songs for Papa Wemba and Zaiko Langa Langa before starting his own band, Quartier Latin, in 1986. He invented a new soukous rhythm dubbed tchao tcho and was one of the top bandleaders and songwriters on the European world music scene in the 90s. He continues to tour and record with Quartier Latin in the new millennium.
Olomide was born on Friday the 13th of August 1956 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to Kinshasa, the capital, while he was a boy. He was a sickly child, although he grew up in a middle class family. He started making up songs when he was seven and in his teens became known for writing new words to the melodies of popular hits, especially the songs of Tabu Ley Rochereau, one of the Congo’s legendary singers. He learned enough music on guitars borrowed from friends to impress a neighbor, who offered to teach the young Olomide how to play. Music remained a hobby though and his family sent him to Paris to finish university. Back home on holidays, with his brother’s encouragement, Olomide recorded a few of his own songs. Two of them, “Asso” and “Princesse Ya Senza,” were hits and soon Papa Wemba and Zaiko Langa Langa were recording his tunes. He recorded several singles with Papa Wemba including the hit “Anibo.” Their work together is collected on Papa Wemba & Koffi Olomide 1978-1979 (1996 Éditions Ngoyarto France.)
After graduation in 1980, Olomide returned to Congo and decided to become a professional musician. He cut his first solo album Ngounda (1998 Éditions Ngoyarto) in Belgium with producer Roland Leclerc in 1983 and returned to Congo for two collaborations with well-known singers Olomide et Fafa de Molokoi (1986 Éditions Ngoyarto France) and Olomide et Yakini Kiesse (1988 Éditions Ngoyarto France). Olomide started his own band, Quartier Latin, in 1986 and started turning out singles and albums on a regular basis, both under his own name and as Quartier Latin. Influenced by the zouk band Kassav’, Olomide incorporated international dance music and electronics into his sound. His international success started with 1987’s hits “Kiki Ewing” and “Ngobila” released internationally on the album Diva (1992 Sonodisc France) and 1998’s “Henriquet” and the 1988 Congolese album Golden Star dans Stephie. They were compiled and released later as Tcha Tcho (1990 Stern’s UK.)
In 1991 Olomide took his tcha tcho beat international by signing with the French Sonodisc label. He began recording new tunes and newer versions of old material on a series of hit albums including Les Prisonniers dorment (1991 Sonodisc France), Pas de Faux Pas (1992 Sonodisc France) with Quartier Latin, Noblesse Oblige (1993 Sonodisc France) which went gold, Magie (1994 Sonodisc France) with Quartier Latin, and V 12 (1995 Sonodisc France.) In 1994 Olomide was named Best Male Artist at the African Music Awards. In 1996 he reunited with is first boss, Papa Wemba, for the collaboration Wake Up: Album de Legende (1996 Sonodisc France.)
In 1997 Olomide became a pop star in France and much of Europe with the success of Loi (1997 Sonodisc France) and Ultimatum (1997 Sonodisc France) recorded with his band Quartier Latin. He played the Olympia in 1998 and released the concert as Live a L' Olympia (1997 Sonodisc France). Droit de Veto (1999 Sonodisc France) another Quartier Latin album earned him his second gold album just six months after its release in France. Attentat (2000 Sonodisc France) went almost instantly gold; with Quartier Latin he headlined Bercy Stadium, the largest concert venue in Paris. Live a Bercy (2000 Sonodisc France) captured their high-energy show.
A world tour in 2001 took him to the US and in December of that year he dropped the double solo album Effrakata (2001 Sonodisc France.) He made Affaire d'Etat (2003 Sonodisc France) with Quartier Latin shortly before Sonodisc went bankrupt. His next solo outing, the double CD Monde arabe was released by Sonima (France) in 2004. He celebrated 20th years as an artist with a tour of Europe and Africa and the album Danger de mort (2006 Sonima France) made with his band Quartier Latin.
