Petit-Pays
Encyclopedia
Petit-Pays is a Cameroonian musician. By 1996 he had sold over 50,000 cassettes. He is also known as OMEGA, Rabba Rabbi, Turbo and famously Avocat defenseur des femmes (advocate for women). He is one of the most celebrated Cameroonian musicians of the late '80s and '90s. His music has evolved over the years adapting to contemporary African genres. He mixes native Cameroonian makossa
with soukous
, zouk
, and salsa
, leading to the portmanteau label of makozouk for some of his music. He launched his first album Haoussa in 1987, after working with makossa
producers. In Haoussa, he says his father is Haoussa and mother is Douala.
He has a band, known as Petit Pays et Les Sans Visa, which has seen several band members moving on to start their own solo careers over the '90s and 2000s. It includes artists like Jojo Moussio Samy Diko, Kaissa Pakito, Samantha Fok, Guy Manu, Njohreur, Xavier Lagaf and lots of other successful Makossa musicians. It is rumored that he gave the name Sans Visa to his band because he was deported from France for not having a visa.
He is the self crowned king of Makossa. In one of his songs, "Le Jour de ma Mort" (The Day I Die) from the album Class FM and other songs, he compares himself to Fela Kuti
of Nigeria, Alpha Blondy
of Côte d'Ivoire
, Salif Keita
of Mali
and Youssou N'dour
of Senegal
. He always gives credit to legends like Francis Bebey
, Eboa Lotin and Manu Dibango
. He makes music with Pro Tools
He is known for his sometimes offensive dressing, controversial album covers and lyrics. He caused a stir in the mid-nineties ('94?) when he posed naked for his album cover King of Makossa (Love Class FM).
Makossa
Makossa is a type of music that is most popular in urban areas in Cameroon. It is similar to soukous, except that it includes strong bass rhythm and a prominent horn section. Makossa, which means " dance" in Duala, originated from a type of Duala dance called kossa, with significant influences...
with soukous
Soukous
Soukous is a dance music genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa...
, zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
, and salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, leading to the portmanteau label of makozouk for some of his music. He launched his first album Haoussa in 1987, after working with makossa
Makossa
Makossa is a type of music that is most popular in urban areas in Cameroon. It is similar to soukous, except that it includes strong bass rhythm and a prominent horn section. Makossa, which means " dance" in Duala, originated from a type of Duala dance called kossa, with significant influences...
producers. In Haoussa, he says his father is Haoussa and mother is Douala.
He has a band, known as Petit Pays et Les Sans Visa, which has seen several band members moving on to start their own solo careers over the '90s and 2000s. It includes artists like Jojo Moussio Samy Diko, Kaissa Pakito, Samantha Fok, Guy Manu, Njohreur, Xavier Lagaf and lots of other successful Makossa musicians. It is rumored that he gave the name Sans Visa to his band because he was deported from France for not having a visa.
He is the self crowned king of Makossa. In one of his songs, "Le Jour de ma Mort" (The Day I Die) from the album Class FM and other songs, he compares himself to Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
of Nigeria, Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew...
of Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Salif Keita
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
of Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
and Youssou N'dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
. He always gives credit to legends like Francis Bebey
Francis Bebey
Francis Bebey was a Cameroonian artist, musician, and writer.Bebey attended the Sorbonne, and was further educated in the United States...
, Eboa Lotin and Manu Dibango
Manu Dibango
-External links:*...
. He makes music with Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
He is known for his sometimes offensive dressing, controversial album covers and lyrics. He caused a stir in the mid-nineties ('94?) when he posed naked for his album cover King of Makossa (Love Class FM).
External links
- http://petitpays1.com/
- Camerounlink.net