Quick Facts
Biography
Youssoupha Mabiki, better known by his nickname Youssoupha ([jusufa]; born in Kinshasa on 29 August 1979) is a French rapper of Congolese descent.
Early life and career
He was born to a Congolese father, the musician and Congo-Kinshasa political figure Tabu Ley Rochereau and a Senegalese mother. After spending his childhood in Congo-Kinshasa, at the age of 10, he moved to France to live with relatives in Beziers, then Osny, Cergy and Sartrouville. He finished his French baccaleureat at Académie de Versailles with high grades and continued with Cultural Mediation, Communication at Roanne and La Guillotière. After obtaining his master's degree, he consecrated himself to music.
His first album Frères Lumières was a trio with two other friends. They released a maxi single. He was also involved in many musical projects including the album Tendance by the band Bana Kin (with Sinistre Kozi Philo and Mic genie).
His own street DVD was released at end of 2005 as Eternel Recommencement followed in 2006 and was signed to Hostile record label. After working with a number of renowned rappers, he released his debut studio album in March 2007 titled À chaque frère ("To Every Brother") containing collaborations from Diam's, Kool Shen, S'Pi and Mike Génie.
His second album came out in October 2009 called Sur les chemins du retour ("On the Ways of Return"), alongside an international tour. In preparation of his third album, he also released a downloadableDigi-tape En noir et blanc - En attendant Noir Désir ("Black & White, Waiting for Black Desire") where he included some remixes of the album. In January 2012, he released his third studio album Noir désir ("Black Desire") featuring Taipan, Corneille, S-Pi, Sam's, Indila, LFDV and his own father Tabu Ley Rochereau"
In popular culture
- He took part as songwriting teacher at the French reality television program Popstars.
- In 2009, French journalist Éric Zemmour opened a lawsuit against him accusing him of public threats for diabolizing the banlieues. Youssoupha responded in an interview with Le Parisien that he advocated non-violence, but was pointing out the contradictions of Zemmour. He also responded with his single "Menace de mort" (meaning Death threat in English) with clips from various television programs quoting anti-immigrant sentiments expressed by media figures.[1]
Accolades
- MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 - Best Francophone (Nominated)
Decorations
- Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (2016)
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Charts | Certification | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | À chaque frère | 32 | — | — | — | FRA: Gold | |
| 2009 | Sur les chemins du retour | 21 | — | — | — | FRA: Gold | |
| 2011 | En noir et blanc - En attendant Noir Désir | 117 | — | — | — | ||
| 2012 | Noir Désir | 3 | — | 7 | — | FRA: Platinum | |
| 2013 | On se connaît | 138 | — | — | — | ||
| 2015 | NGRTD | 4 | 82 | 6 | 12 | FRA: Gold | |
| 2018 | Polaroid Experience | — | — | 18 | 32 | ||
Singles
| Year | Single | Charts | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Menace de mort" | 43 | – | – | Noir desir |
| 2012 | "Histoires vraies" | 75 | – | – | |
| "Dreamin'" | 14 | – | 65 | ||
| "Les disques de mon père" | 137 | – | – | ||
| "On se connait" | 9 | 7 | 61 | Non-album release | |
| 2014 | "Boma Yé" | 138 | – | – | |
| 2015 | "Entourage" | 77 | – | – | |
| "Public Enemy" | 158 | – | – | NGRTD | |
| "Smile" | 54 | – | – | ||
| "Chanson française" | 143 | – | – | ||
| "Love Musik" | 168 | – | – | ||
Featured in:
| Year | Single | Charts | Certification | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "I Know" (Remix Street version)" | 138 | – | Letter to the Lord | |
| 2013 | "Paname Boss" | 54 | 42 | Drôle de parcours | |
| "Il se passe quelque chose" | 101 | – | |||
| "Coeur de Guerrier" | – | – | Urban Electro | ||
| "Kitoko" | – | – | Power World | ||
| "Fire" | – | – | Ticket to the World | ||
| 2016 | "Bada Bing" | 104 | 33 | ||
| "Musique nègre" | 112 | – | |||
| 2017 | "Grand Paris" | 65 | – | ||
| "Pourquoi chérie" | 24 | 43 | |||
| "La danse du matin" | 177 | – | |||
| 2018 | "PLMV" | 194 | – | ||
