Shadow Zion! This name is always said with a certain melody in the voice. To give you an idea of what I say, take a tour on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at the Centre Curial in Paris, at 7 pm: he will give a concert.

Ombre Zion, a stainless nugget
Rap galsen is on the rise. Every day, a nugget comes to cover these predecessors with its brilliance. But, there are stainless nuggets in Senegalese rap, continue to shake up the codes and transcend musical boundaries. Among them, a rather unusual name stands out. He is an eclectic artist who brings African music to life outside his country; this artist, high in color: he calls himself Ombré Zion. So it will give a body in the capital of Paris that we all wait with great impatience.

Ombré Zion, child of Pikine rocked by reggae
Ombre Zion was born in Pikine, a bustling suburb of Dakar. At an early age, he is fascinated by reggae music. In this musical universe that strongly resembles the streets of Kingston, he will be impregnated with the music of Bob Marley, whom he presents as his idol. This demanding rhythm will convince him to take the microphone and sing what goes in his guts.

The first artistic steps, suprem Kaddu Magg
It was in college, in 1994, that the artist really engaged in music. With friends, he created the group Suprem Kaddu Magg with mainly Léon Bassène (Jahman) and Amboure Kanté (Tekan). Their style is quite unbridled since they indulge in a set of style that it is not common to see at the time. From reggae to soul, through hip hop, they make music of everything that falls in their head in front of a microphone. It is precisely during this period of a musical style that Ombre Zion works his style, his voice.

P-Zion et Ombre Zion

A promising solo career
Like most artists who want to express themselves, make their voice heard, he decided in 2005 to start a solo career. But before getting on the scene as an independent artist, he will make many collaborations that will allow him to tap in the eye of the public and many artists. He participates in many projects, both national and international, and to share the stage with renowned artists. This earned him the recognition of his peers. He has collaborated with artists such as Stromae, Tabo Conbo, the Morgan Heritage, Julian Marley, Mutabaruka, Tiken Jah, Takana Zion, Ismaël Isaac… To see all his collaborations with a large number of reggae artists, do not think that he is limited to this musical style. A contribution to the Senegalese musical heritage. I forgot, he also co-wrote a title for the last album “MBALAKH” of the legend Youssou Ndour, thus testifying to his artistic versatility.

An impressive international course
Convinced of his talent and confident in himself, he released in 2016 a first album of fourteen tracks entitled “2016 Dougnou Laal Wethiet” “which was well received by the reggae and hip hop public”, these are the words. In this album, he talks about the social problems experienced by Senegalese who are left behind by governments. In 2020, the EP “Rude Boy Inna Capital” really sets its career by confirming its place on the international scene as an artist capable of shaking up codes. In 2023, he returns with another EP of six tracks, more colorful than the previous one, “Calendar” where a song to his style, his vibe. This makes Ombre Zion an unclassifiable artist who cannot be confined in any box – musically speaking, of course.

A committed and recognized artist
Ombre Zion is not only an artist, he is also a respected mentor and judge in several singing and dance competitions, contributing to the emergence of new talent in Senegal. His participation as a jury in the “Happy Vac” and “Lns” Hip Hop competitions is a testament to his commitment to the local music scene. His talent and authenticity have allowed him to establish himself as a key figure on the African music scene in both reggae and dancehall.

“One daguay teuth sa guémigne! Two daguay teuth sa guémigne! Tree daguay teuth sa guémigne!” (One, shut up! Two, shut up! Three, shut up!) , it was through the series “Emprises” that Amélie Mbaye democratized this expression, an expression of course, which was tweeted thousands of times through TikTok. This mythical phrase has allowed him to retain viewers around his strong character: … the gangsta mom, the lioness mom, the protective mom, the chicken mom, finally the mom who wants to manage everything even the choice of her children. The one who is willing to punish, threaten, manipulate, socialize and even kill people who want to get in her way, but also between her and her children, who only she knows what is good for them.

Amélie Mbaye is one of those actresses who can be defined as out of the ordinary. She masters her field. Cinema is what she likes to do with incredible precision and sagacity. By herself, she can do the show. She has the weight of an actress who drains passions, compassion, she invites to a trip to each of the characters played. What a feat! Her charisma overflowing, her perfect body, her ebony complexion, her wasp size, her devastating smile, Amelie Mbaye is like a muse in the spotlight. We enjoy watching her come into action and create this fusion that a viewer can have with her heroine. She’s just masterful! 

But who is Amélie Mbaye?
Amélie Mbaye is an American of Senegalese origin, born in Dakar, Senegal. She studied tourism, aeronautics and foreign languages in France in Caen. She was Telepeakerine at the RTS in Dakar then Presenter in various television shows in Dakar and Los Angeles where she is based with her son who is also a singer whose stage name is Boogie Fresh. Miss Africa Times in 2001, she was the lead actress in the famous television series of Apolline Traoré “Monia et Rama”, shot in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso where she played the main role of Aline. In 2004, she played with Bruce Willis in “Tears of the sun”. She speaks five languages (French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Wolof). Amélie Mbaye is based for more than twenty years in Los Angeles, California. She has made her mark in film production and has already appeared in many films around the world. Outside her acting job, she is also a singer. Ze-Africanews met her in this full interview. 

Maïmouna Doucouré is a great French-Senegalese director. Despite the mixed reactions around her film «Mignonnes», the genius of the French director’s cinematographic art does not fade. It is impossible to fall into disgrace when we talk about such realistic themes. She illustrates herself in a technique of which she seems the only one to have the secret: polygamy. She emphasizes the complex relationships children have with polygamy. An avant-garde with a unique style that the world never ceases to celebrate. From «Cache-cache» to «Hawa», all his work is a grandiose fresco in which belong the African traditionalist movements still struggling with modernity.

Born in 1985 in Paris, Maïmouna Doucouré is the daughter of a family of Senegalese immigrants. Coming to France, the family settled in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. The young woman obtained an S baccalaureate and a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Paris VI. At the same time, she takes theatre classes in the laboratory of actress Hélène Zidi. In 2012, following a scenario competition initiated by the Social Union for Habitat, she made her first short film on equity entitled «Cache-cache». She won the 3rd HLM Prize and the heart of the jury of the Génération Court festival in Aubervilliers. Then, «Maman» will follow and will collect nearly 60 international awards. This film has brought him into the circle of renowned French creators. In this film, she portrays the rather tormented life of a girl in a polygamous home. A girl that the heat of a home burns so much that she decides to kill her father’s second wife.

But, Maïmouna Doucouré’s film that will make people talk about her is «Mignonnes». Made in 2017, this film comes out on screens in 2020. He received the Global Filmmaking Award. That same year, the film was nominated for Césars in the “Best First Film” category. It’s the story of a group of hypersexualized pre-teens. Amy, the main character, is under attack.

The United States, which abounds in this kind of scandal-ridden film, castigated the film. The director is accused of promoting «the obscene exhibition of the genitals of minors, soliciting a lustful interest for sex». Yet it is quite the opposite. The film denounces, according to the director, the early sexualization of girls who allow themselves to be carried away by sexual excesses amplified by social networks. Censorship is like yeast. It makes the sauce rise. The media storm has no control over the film, which in 2019 receives the Academy of Oscars Gold Fellowship for Women. What’s in this movie to make so much talk.

Amy, the heroine, is a pre-teen girl of one-year-old from Senegal. She lives in a tiny apartment in the north of Paris with her mother and two brothers. As in «Maman», Amy sees her family – a polygamous family – going to the dogs. The suffering her mother is experiencing is hard on her. The country wants to go back to Senegal with the second woman. She is fed up with collective prayer and all that has to do with tradition. Faced with her aunt’s advice, she turned a deaf ear. She discovered dancing with Angelica. Through hard work, she joined a dance group «Mignonnes» title of the film. There, the film begins. Light outfit, daring gesture, sensual, borderline pornographic. Quite the opposite of what her aunt strives to teach her. The school humiliations and negative reactions, and the daring photos that leaked on social media, all this cocktail drive the girl to depression. Family problems eventually transform the girl who now shows herself as a socialite.