Monique Séka was born on November 22, 1965. She was nicknamed the queen of Afro-zouk music and is a singer from the

Ivory Coast 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 ...

. With the musical fusion that she generates; Monique Seka's Afro-zouk music is popular across places like the Ivory Coast, Africa, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and the Indian Ocean.

Biography

Séka developed an interest for music from childhood. She represents the third generation of a musical dynasty of Ivory Coast. Seka is the daughter of Seka Okoi an Ivorian singer famous in the 1970s. Seka was apprenticed by her father before joining the RTI Orchestra. That was the time she started to experiment mixing zouk and rhythms to create Afro Zouk, a combination that surprises and seduces music lovers at the same time. In the mid-1980s, Caribbean music invaded world markets. Seka blended into this trend and released her first album ''"Tantie Affoué"'' in 1985. In 1989, she signed the production of her music to

Cape Verdian , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

keyboardist Manu Lima and released her album ''"Missounwa''". This mixture of zouk and African rhythms travelled beyond the African borders, and asserted recognition in the press and media. At the end of 1992, she met Dominique Richard, a founding member of Radio Sun, the first Afro-Caribbean radio station launched in Lyon in July 1993. Dominique became her producer and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

. They got married on March 31, 1995, and after releasing a few albums they had a daughter Carolyn Richard, born February 9, 1998. In 1994, she again calls on Manu Lima for the arrangements of her new album and returned to the country with the album ''"Okaman"''. Subsequent albums of hers include ''"Adéba''" in 1997, ''"Yélélé"'' in 1999 and many "best of" with new titles: "Anthology" in 1999, "15 years 15 success" in 2003, ''"Obligada''" in 2005, etc. Her success has earned her the support of many artists from various musical backgrounds such as "''Yaye Demin''", a hit song with Meiway.

Discography

Albums

* 1986 : ''Tantie affoué'' * 1989 : ''Missounwa'', Éditions C.B.H. * 1995 : ''Okaman'', Déclic * 1997 : ''Adeba'' * 1999 : ''Yelele'', Sony Music * 2000 : ''Anthologie'' * 2003 : ''Best of Album'', Créon Music * 2005 : ''Obligada''

References

20th-century Ivorian women singers 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Ivorian women singers {{Africa-singer-stub

Biography

Discography

Albums

See also

References