King Mensah (born August 12, 1971), also known as "The Golden Voice of Togo", is a

Togolese Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

singer from West Africa. Though based in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, he regularly records and promotes his albums in Paris, and has embarked on several world tours since 2005. Singing in Mina, Ewe, and French, King Mensah's sound fuses elements of traditional

Ewe music Ewe music is the music of the Ewe people of Togo, Ghana, and Benin, West Africa. Instrumentation is primarily percussive and rhythmically the music features great metrical complexity. Its highest form is in dance music including a drum orchestra, ...

(Agbadza and Akpessé), and Kabye dance-drum music, with

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and West African Afropop. King Mensah's lyrical themes are steeped in religion and hopeful encouragement for the orphaned, oppressed and downtrodden.

History

King Mensah was born Ayaovi Papavi Mensah to a father from Togo and a mother from

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. Mensah began performing with a 'ballet' of traditional Togolese folkloric music at age 9. In his formative years, he was a member of the band 'Les Dauphins de la Capitale'. He acted with Ki-Yi M’Bock Theatre in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, in the early 1990s, then traveled to Europe, Japan,

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, France and

as an actor and singer. In 2005, Mensah founded a philanthropic organization called "Foundation King Mensah" in Togo dedicated to the protection and education of orphans, including an orphanage in Agbodrafo, 25 km east of Lomé.

Awards

* Togo Best artist ACCP with UNESCO of Paris in 1997 * Best Traditional African Artist *

Kora Award The KORA All Africa Music Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. The awards were founded in 1994 by Benin born businessman, Ernest Adjovi, after a discussion in Namibia with the country's President H ...

in South Africa in 2000 * Best Artist - Togo Music Awards in 2000 * Best Album ("Mensah, Mensah")- Togo Music Awards in 2000 * Price of excellence - Togo Music Awards in 2000 * Best Traditional African Artist - Kora 2004 in South Africa * FIATI Trophy in Lomé in 2005 * Best African Social Artist in 2005 * Gold TAMANI in Mali in 2005 * Trophy of Independence in 2006 - Leader of the Togolese Music * "Officer of the First Order" by the Togolese Head of State in 2008

Discography

Albums

* ''Madjo'' (1996) I am Going"* ''Edidodo'' (1998) Courage"* ''Mensah Mensah'' (2000) * ''Elom'' (2002) He/She Loves Me"* ''Yetonam'' (2008) He Answered My Call"* ''Da'' (2012) Mom"* ''Soke'' (2014) Forgive"

References

* ''Rough Guide to West Africa 5'' by Richard Trillo * ''Rough Guide to World Music : Volume 1'' by Rough Guides
King Mensah's official website

A 2008 article

External links