Damso (rapper)
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William Kalubi Mwamba (born 10 May 1992 in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
), better known by his stage name Damso (), is a Belgian- Congolese rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is popular in France, where all of his albums have been certified at least
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
.


Early life and education

Kalubi was born in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
,
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
(present-day
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
) to a sociologist mother and cardiologist father. When he was nine years old, he and his family left the country for
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
because of the bloody armed conflict which he speaks about in his song ''Graine de sablier'' ("the shots of the Kalashnikov keep me from dreaming"), ''Exutoire'' ("kill everyone even the pregnant women"), and ''K. Kin la belle'' ("oh Kin inshasathe beautiful, the one that's caused me so much pain). They initially settled in
Kraainem Kraainem () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Kraainem proper. On January 1, 2006, Kraainem had a total population of 13,150. The total area is , whi ...
, a commune on the outskirts of Brussels, where Damso grew up before moving when Damso was 22 to the largely Congolese neighborhood of Matonge in
Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...
. William's mother is Rose Marthe. After completing secondary school, Damso's parents urged him to pursue a degree in marketing and psychology, but his passion for music led him to spend more time in recording studios, causing his academic performance to suffer. This resulted in conflicts with his parents, especially his father, who had been a medical doctor in Kinshasa, ultimately leading to Damso being kicked out of his home. Struggling to make ends meet, Damso resorted to living in squats and engaging in illegal activities for financial survival, driven by his refusal to tolerate racism and mistreatment in traditional workplaces.


Career

Damso started his rap career in 2006 by performing at local and underground events. At the start of his rap career, he formed rap collective OPG with childhood friend Dolfa. They later recruited Ducke, Lio Brown, and Rex. He released his first solo project ''Salle d'attente'' online as a free download in 2014. In collaboration with his band OPG, and significantly inspired by his older brother Mehdi Rais, he released his mixtape ''MMMXIII'' on 24 September 2014. Damso made his name in 2015 thanks to his song "Poseidon", which appears on
Booba Élie Thitia Yaffa (; born 9 December 1976), better known under his stage name Booba, is a French rapper. After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a crit ...
's OKLM mixtape. Following this, he joined Booba's 92i collective and signed with Universal Music. He made an appearance on Booba's album '' Nero Nemesis'' on the track "Pinocchio", in collaboration with Booba and rapper Gato Da Bato. Damso's verse was noted by the public and the media, increasing his popularity and widening his audience. In France, all of Damso's albums have attained at minimum platinum certification. On 8 July 2016 his first studio album, entitled ''Batterie Faible'', was released on Booba's label: 92i Records. The project, fully mixed and recorded by Krisy, has been certified platinum in France selling more than 300,000 units. His second album ''Ipséité'' was released on 28 April 2017 and was certified triple platinum in less than six months. The album is now certified diamond with over 900,000 cumulative album sales in France. In 2018, Damso's third album ''Lithopedion'' was certified platinum within a week of its release and is now certified Diamond with over 500,000 units sold. He won the best musician awards. In 2020, he released album ''QALF'', which was later certified Diamond with over 500,000 units sold.


Artistry


Musical style and influences

Damso's music is influenced by his childhood in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
,
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
as well as his adolescence in
Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...
, Belgium. He said in an interview that he was inspired by Bone Thugs N Harmony and
Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...
.


Themes

Damso explores a number of themes related to romance, success, his country of origin (the DRC), racism, and gender.


Personal life

In 2017, Damso had his son Lior. In 2020, he dedicated the song "Deux toiles de mer" to him, which was included on his album ''QALF''. Damso is separated from his son's mother, as explained in the song. He initially wrote an open letter to his son in an Instagram post.


Controversy

In 2018, the Belgian Football Association planned to commission Damso to create an anthem for the national soccer team's participation in the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
, but faced public backlash and criticism from women's rights groups due to misogynistic and sexist content in his songs. Following this controversy, the association terminated their collaboration with Damso, issuing an apology to those who felt offended or discriminated against by their choice of artist.


Concerts

Damso organised his first tour, the ''Ipséité Tour'' after the release of his album ''Ipséité'' in 2017 in which he went toured in France and Belgium. After a huge success, he continued with the ''Lithopédion Tour'' in 2018 and 2019 across the Francophone world.


Discography


Albums


Mixtapes


Singles


As lead artist

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.


As featured artist

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.


Other charted or certified songs


References

{{Authority control 1992 births Living people Belgian male rappers French-language singers of Belgium Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Belgium Musicians from Kinshasa 21st-century Belgian male singers 21st-century Belgian singers 21st-century rappers Trap musicians