Kedjevara

A prominent singer, songwriter, DJ, and producer within the Ivory Coast’s coupé-décalé movement, Kedjevara rose to success with a series of popular singles and compilation appearances in the latter half of the 2000s. He found increased success the following decade with his 2015 album The One and tracks like “C’est ça l’idée” featuring Chidinma and “Toucher le sol.” Born Yao Parfait, the Adjiban native is the son of another popular singer, Antoinette Allany. Following in his mother’s footsteps he became involved in the country’s coupé-décalé scene in the mid-2000s. Under the name Kedjevara, he developed a rhythmic, dance-driven style that manifested itself in popular tracks like 2005′s “Sarah” and 2009′s “Tchoukou Tchoukou Dance.” Kedjevara made his album debut with 2009′s Le Meteorman, which spawned the hit “Bobaraba.” A more aggressive sound characterized his 2012 album Nonguan-Nonguan, though it was 2015′s The One that gained more traction with audiences. Over the next several years, Kedjevara shifted his focus primarily to singles, releasing songs like 2017′s “Potcho Potcho” and the Mix Premier collaboration “Le ciel est bleu.” Among the more successful tracks from this period were “C’est ça l’idée” and “Toucher le sol.” ~ Timothy Monger