Moona is a West African rapper. Known for her flow, sharp and poetic lyrics as well as for her active involvement with the youth, Moona is an active member of United Artists for African Rap (AURA) in which she represents her native

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 ...

. Besides, Moona is the only female rapper to have been selected by Africa Unsigned among artists of the continent to receive support for their next production.

Biography

Born on October 10, 1983, Moona, of her real name Awa Mounaya Yanni, is a young Beninese artist of Senegalese origins, who makes her first steps in Hip Hop in 2004 in Benin. Her musical adventure begins in her family circle with a father, musician but also patron of the art who welcomes at the family house in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

famous artists such as the band Kassav, Rochero and Milia Bell, Aïcha Koné or Edou Bokandé. Influenced in early childhood by musical styles such as

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, African variety and world music, Moona finally chooses Hip Hop as the privileged expression of her musical creativity. Trained as a lawyer, it is not without difficulty, but with a lot of determination that Moona manages to combine studies and music. In 2005, she moves to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

for her studies, and there she meets with Guisse Pene and

Didier Awadi Didier Awadi is a Senegalese rapper and a significant figure in Francophone West African hip hop. As a founding member of Positive Black Soul (PBS) with Duggy Tee, Awadi toured around the world contributing to the international popularity of Hip ...

who encourage her to pursue her musical journey. Since then, Moona has been demonstrating her huge potential by participating in several festivals such as Hip Hop Awards, Banlieue Rythme, Afrikakeur, Fête de la Musique, 72H Hip Hop or Waga Hip Hop and by featuring on different mixtapes and albums such as those of Boudor (

Negrissim' Negrissim' is a hip hop crew from Cameroon formerly based in Dakar, Senegal, despite their members travelling regularly between Europe and Africa. History It all began in 1995 in Yaoundé where the young rapper SadraK from Douala met the Sass ...

) or Biba (Bideew bou bess). She finally releases her debut album in 2009, ''A Fleur 2 Mo’'' in which she offers a musical ambiance that spans from hip hop to modern music such as coupé-décalé,

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

, and other backgrounds sonorous softer and muffled. In 2006, she joins the West African hip hop collective AURA as the Benin representative. In AURA’s musical comedy, Moona interprets the role of a young girl working as a street fruit vendor. AURA official website
/ref> Besides, reiterating her engagement towards the youth, Moona participates in 2009 in the project “

Answers Solutions Knowledge Answers Solutions Knowledge (ASK) in Morocco is one of the four departments of the Moroccan branch of '' Association des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales'' (Association of Commercial and Economic sciences students). Each year AIE ...

”, a campaign of awareness against the

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

initiated by AIESEC Senegal in collaboration with UNESCO-BREDA and for which she becomes a trainer. Moona is one of the most promising example of how Hip Hop and social engagement and activism remains intrinsically intertwined in the mind of its African artists.

Discography

* 2009 – ''A fleur 2 Mo’''

Distinction / Affiliation

* AURA (United Artists for African Rap)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Moona on Myspace

Senegalese hip hop musicians Beninese women singers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1983 births

Biography

Discography

Distinction / Affiliation

See also

References

External links