Soumia Bahri or just Soumia (born August 27, 1977 in
Saint-Mandé
Saint-Mandé () is a high-end commune of the Val-de-Marne department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the smallest communes of the Île-de-France by land area, but i ...
,
Val-de-Marne
Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a p ...
) is a French
Zouk
Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...
singer.
Biography
Soumia Bahri was born near Paris (France) to
Moroccan parents, She has a Master's degree in linguistics. Her first involvement in music was by doing background vocals in a
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
band. In 1998 she teams up with singer ''Talina'' to record the
Zouk
Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...
song ''Temps pou Temps''. This earned her some popularity in the Paris music scene. A second recording, ''Life'', was released in 2001.
[On the album ''Zouk R&B Volume III''] Soumia releases her first album, ''Still in Love'', in 2002 with the ''Section Zouk'' label. The album is quite popular in the Afro-Caribbean music scene, and gave her the chance to many more collaborations with
Zouk
Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...
artists. Her second album is called ''In Love Again'', and was released in 2005. She combines the Zouk musical style with influences from
R'n'B
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 music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
, and African styles, wrote her own lyrics, and coproduced the album. Her third album is called ''Confidences'', and released in 2009.
Discography
Albums
* 2002 Still in Love (Section Zouk)
* 2005 In Love Again (Section Zouk, Sushiraw)
* 2009 Confidences (Sushiraw)
Collaborations
* 1998 Temps pou Temps, with ''Talina''
* 2001 Life, with
Kaysha
Kaysha (born 1974) is a singer/rapper and producer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is the son of Congolese politician Édouard Mokolo Wa Mpombo.
Career
He was born in Kinshasa but emigrated to France with his parents at the age of ...
* Je sais qui elle est, with Kaysha
* I'll be there for you, (album Dis l'heure du Zouk) with Passi
* Les belles choses, with Danny Dan
References and links
*
Biography on Afromontreal retrieved Sept 29, 09.
*
French AOL music entry retrieved Sept. 29, 09
Soumia on Myspace retrieved Sept. 29, 09
1977 births
Living people
People from Saint-Mandé
Zouk musicians
21st-century French singers
{{France-singer-stub