Henri Dikongué (born 6 December 1967) is a Cameroonian singer and guitarist. Dikongué was born in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

to a family of musicians. He attended a music school in Paris, where he attempted unsuccessfully to release a first album. He started a music and acting troupe and worked with actor Martin Yog and musicians Alfred M'Bongo and Manuel Wandji, as well as

Maranatha __NOTOC__ ''Maranatha'' (Aramaic: ') is an Aramaic phrase which occurs once in the New Testament (). It also appears in Didache 10:14. It is transliterated into Greek letters rather than translated and, given the nature of early manuscripts, the ...

, a South African chorus. After finally choosing to settle in Paris in 1989, he perfected his skills with classical guitar and collaborated with African musicians such as Manu Dibango and Papa Wemba. In 1995 he released his first album, ''Wa''. His music mixes elements from

makossa Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a ...

bikutsi Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaoundé. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa. It is primarily dance music ...

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

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...

. He sings in his native tongue, Duala. His second album, ''

C'est la Vie C'est la vie may refer to: * C'est la vie (phrase), ''C'est la vie'' (phrase), a French phrase, translated as "That's life" Books * C'est la Vie (comic strip), ''C'est la Vie'' (comic strip), an English-language comic strip by Jennifer Babcock * ...

'', was released in 1997 (in the US under the Tinder Records label) and sold about 10,000 copies. Between 1997 and 1998, he toured Germany and the United States. His third album, ''N'oublie jamais'', was released in 2000. This album incorporated more musical styles such as

and

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

, but the album wasn't as successful as his previous works.

Discography

* ''Wa'' (1995) * ''

'' (1997) * ''N'oublie jamais (Never forget)'' (2000) * ''Biso Nawa'' (2005) * ''Diaspora'' (2016)

References

External links

Official website of Henri DikonguéBiography (French)National Geographic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikongue, Henri 1967 births Living people Cameroonian guitarists 21st-century Cameroonian male singers 20th-century Cameroonian male singers