Nayanka Bell (born 1963 in
Agboville
Agboville is the town in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Agboville Department. It is also a commune and the seat of Agnéby-Tiassa Region in Lagunes District.
Agboville is situated 79 km north of Abidjan. T ...
,
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 ...
)
[Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 23] is an Ivorian singer who has released several albums, the earliest between 1982 and 1984.
Biography
Bell's early work was inspired by the Francophone Caribbean, and although her native tongue is French, she sings in English.
Her debut album, ''Amio'', was released in 1983, with styles ranging from funk and disco to ballads.
A second album in 1986, ''If You Came To Go'', showed a greater
Antillean
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
influence.
Bell is considered one of the top female Ivorian singers.
[Ham, Anthony, Bainbridge, James, & Bewer, Tim (2006) ''West Africa'', ]Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
, , p. 262
In 2000, she recorded a version of
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...
's "
Je t'aime... moi non-plus", with Congolese singer
Koffi Olomidé
Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba (13 July 1956), known professionally as Koffi Olomidé, is a Congolese Soukus singer, dancer, producer, and composer. He has had several gold records in his career. He is the founder of the Quartier Latin Internati ...
and performed it in front of 17,000 spectators at the
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
Palais () may refer to:
* Dance hall, popularly a ''palais de danse'', in the 1950s and 1960s in the UK
* ''Palais'', French for palace
** Grand Palais, the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées
**Petit Palais, an art museum in Paris
* Palais River in ...
.
[Hebdo, Bamako (2008)]
Nayanka Bell : Pourquoi on ne l'entend plus
, Maliweb, 21 March 2008
In April 2009, Bell was critically injured in a road accident, prompting rumours to spread that she had died. She in fact survived the accident although her injuries were serious and required several operations.
[Kader, Omar Abdel (2009)]
Nayanka Bell: Elle va mieux
, ''Top Visages'', 18 April 2009
Discography
*''Just a Boogie'' (1983) SIIS
*''Amio'' (1984) Celluloid
*''Djama'' (1984) Celluloid
*''If You Came to Go'' (1986) Celluloid
*''Visa'' (1994) SLP Editions
*''Brin de Folie'' (2001)
References
1963 births
Living people
20th-century Ivorian women singers
People from Woroba District
21st-century Ivorian women singers
{{Côted'Ivoire-bio-stub