Fally Ipupa
Fally Ipupa N'simba (born December 14, 1977), known professionally as Fally Ipupa, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, philanthropist, guitarist, and producer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Rumba", he is noted for his soulful and mellow tenor vocals, as well as his blend of contemporary and traditional Congolese music genres, including Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. His lyrics often encapsulate universal themes of romance, suffering, and joy.
Fally Ipupa | |
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Fally Ipupa in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fally Ipupa N'simba |
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| Born | December 14, 1977 Kinshasa, Zaire (modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) |
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| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocal |
| Years active | 1997–present |
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Ipupa made his public musical debut in 1997 at the age of 20 with the Kinshasa-based band Talent Latent. In 1999, he joined Koffi Olomidé's Quartier Latin International before branching out as a solo artist with his debut solo studio album, Droit Chemin, which attained a gold record after selling over 100,000 copies within one month. In 2007, Ipupa won the Kora Awards for Best Central Africa Artist. In the same year, Ipupa became the first Congolese artist to sell out the Olympia Hall. In 2008, he toured in France, Belgium, Germany, the United States, and Cameroon. In April of the same year, Ipupa won the Kundé d'Or for Best Central Africa Artist. Ipupa's second studio album, Arsenal de Belles Mélodies with chart-toppers like "Chaise électrique" and "Sexy Dance," became some of his signature songs. The album quickly sold over 100,000 copies, with 40,000 sold weekly. Ipupa subsequently won two consecutive 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards for Best Francophone Artist and Best Video for "Sexy Dance".
His third studio album, Power "Kosa Leka," featuring lead singles such as "La vie est belle", "Ndoki", and "Service," sold over 30,000 copies in a month. In 2013, Ipupa won the Trace Urban Music Award for Best African Artist and was nominated for Best Live Act at the MTV Africa Music Awards in June 2014. His fourth studio album, Tokooos, was certified gold by SNEP, making him one of the first Congolese solo artists from Central Africa to achieve a gold record from SNEP. The album lead singles, "Kiname" (featuring Booba) and "Bad Boy" (featuring Aya Nakamura), achieved gold certification from SNEP and gained popularity across Africa. His fifth studio album, Control, released in November 2018, debuted at number five on SNEP's list of the top downloaded albums in France. Ipupa released his sixth studio album, Tokooos II, in December 2020. On February 25, 2022, Ipupa released Tokooos II Gold, a follow-up to his sixth studio album. On October 17, 2022, he released his seventh studio album Formule 7, which amassed over 3 million streams on Spotify within 24 hours and dominated French iTunes sales.
In 2014, Forbes ranked him as the 6th richest African musician. Jeune Afrique named him one of the 50 most influential African artists in 2018. He is also the most-streamed French-speaking artist on Boomplay and the most-followed Congolese artist on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.