Charlotte Mbango Samè (April 15, 1960, in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

– June 2, 2009, in Paris) was a Cameroonian

Makossa Makossa is a music genre originating in Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon in the late 20th century. Like much other music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. Makossa uses guitar accompaniments, in t ...

singer.

Biography

Mbango was born in

in 1960 in a family of musicians. She was from the family of Eboa Lotin, icon of Cameroonian music. She started a career in music at the age of nine in a choir and became the lead singer at the age of thirteen. She played in several bands before leaving for Europe in 1979 to pursue studies. She later joined the group

Negro spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

of Paris. After marketing studies, Mbango joined the company of Cameroonian singer Sissi Dipoko. This was debuted to the African public by the program Afrique Étoile. Her first album, ''Nostalgie'', was released in 1987. The ''Konkai'' album, released in 1988, was a huge international success and enabled her to win her first

Gold Record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, which was presented to her by couturier Paco Rabane. Her next album, ''Maloko,'' was released in 1991, followed five years later by ''Malea'', released in 1996. In 1998, she released ''Combines Religieuses'', then ''Sans Papier'', and finally ''My Fight'', her last album, in 2002. She died in June 2009 at the age of 49 following a diagnosis of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

, leaving a daughter and a granddaughter.

Discography

*1987: ''Nostalgia'' *1988: ''Konkai'' *1991: ''Maloko'' *1996: ''Malea'' *1998: ''Combine Religious'' *1998: ''Without Papers'' *2002: ''My Fight'' *2008: ''Best of Konkai Makossa''

Awards and recognition

*1988: Gold record *2003: Gold Tamani in

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

in 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbango, Charlotte 1960 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Cameroonian women singers 21st-century Cameroonian women singers People from Douala