Fally Ipupa

Biography

Fally Ipupa, with his full name Fally Ipupa Nsimba, is a Congolese singer, singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer, born on December 14, 1977 in Kinshasa, then capital of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). A major figure in contemporary African music, he is one of the most influential artists of his generation in the Congolese rumba, ndombolo, and Afro-pop genres. Coming from a Catholic family, Fally Ipupa grew up in the popular commune of Bandalungwa (Bandal), an emblematic district of Kinshasa renowned for its cultural effervescence. He took his first musical steps in the parish choir. Very early marked by the success of the group Wenge Musica, he has the ambition to become a professional musician. His singular voice, sometimes tinged with the traces of his childhood stuttering, will become one of his artistic signatures. He began his career in the 1990s with the group Talent Latent, founded in 1998. He officiates there as a singer and conductor, surrounded by young musicians from his neighborhood. The album À l'œuvre on connaît l'artiste, recorded in 1998 and released in 1999, allows him to get noticed thanks to the title Courte joie, performed on Congolese national television.