Céline Banza (born on the 12th February 1997) is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. She is the winner of the 2019 RFI Discoveries Music Award.

Career

Banza was born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. She began her music career at a young age. In early 2010, she moved to

Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...

, where she met people who helped her develop a taste for music, dance, acting, and cinematography. At age 15, she returned to Kinshasa to study musicology at the National Institute of Arts where she met her band mates. In 2017, Banza made a brief appearance on '' The Voice Afrique Francophone''. In the process, she created her own group, "Banza Musik", and participated the following year in the exhibition "Kinshasa 2050. women first! before devoting herself to her new musical project. In 2019, she performed at Jazz Kif in Kinshasa and Brazzaville. She won the 2019 edition of the RFI Discovery Awards She was chosen from among the ten finalists for the quality of her melodies and her voice. Asalfo, Charlotte Dipanda, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Fally Ipupa, Josey,

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960) is a Beninese- French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo has won five Grammy A ...

, Youssou N’Dour, Oumou Sangaré and Singuila were part of this jury. She released her first single ''"Te Rembi"'' in 2019 and her first album will be released in 2020.

Discography

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links