Coco Mbassi (born 28 February 1969) is a musical artist originating from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

, born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, France, and based in London, UK. Winner of the

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

Découvertes Prize in 1996 with the song "Muenge Mwa Ndolo", she toured worldwide and her first album, ''Sepia'', was released in 2001. This album was nominated in 2002 for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, and won the German World Music CD Critics' Awards. Her second album ''Sisea'' was released in 2003. After touring, she released a live tour DVD, ''Coco Mbassi Tour''. Prior to her solo career, she sang with various artists as a backing vocalist, live or in recording sessions (including with

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Biography Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...

, the jazz band Sixun, Toure Kunda,

Ray Lema Raymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga (born 30 March 1946), known as Ray Lema, is a Congolese (DRC) musician. A pianist, guitarist, and songwriter, he settled in France in 1982.

)., and Manu Dibango. Mbassi performed at

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

, at the

Eden Project The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

. A lover of music in general, some of her favourites are ''

The Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' i ...

'' of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

and the Cameroonian artist Dina Bell. Mbassi was on tour with

Totem (Cirque du Soleil) ''Totem'' is a touring show by Cirque du Soleil that premiered in Montréal on April 22, 2010. It was written and directed by previous collaborator Robert Lepage ('' Kà''). Cirque du Soleil describes ''Totem''s theme as the evolution of humanit ...

as the lead female vocalist of the production in 2011. Her latest release is the album ''Jóa'' (2014). After being selected for the BEAM 2018 showcase, Coco Mbassi has written a musical called 'Haendel on the Estate' extracts of which were performed at Ovalhouse theatre in February 2019 as part of their First Bites Spring 2019 programme. The singer also recently played the part of 'The Old Woman' in Cervantes Theatre's director Jorge de Juan García's adaptation of Lorca's famed play Yerma.

References

1969 births Living people French musicians {{France-musician-stub