M’vam Georges Collinet (born 1940?), also known in his early career by the nickname Maxi Voom Voom,Meet the Host: Georges Collinet
at afropop.org is a

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian-

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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broadcaster. He is known for hosting radio shows, such as the internationally distributed radio program ''

Afropop Worldwide ''Afropop Worldwide'' is a radio program that presents the musics of Africa and the African diaspora. The program is produced by Sean Barlow for World Music Productions in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is hosted by the veteran Cameroo ...

''; and for hosting and creating documentary television shows and films. From 1965 until the late 1990s, Collinet hosted a hugely popular morning show broadcast by

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

which had over 120 million daily listeners. He is widely considered the best-known and most famous broadcaster on the African continent. Most, if not all, of his work focuses on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He has broadcast in

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Early life

Collinet was born in

to a Cameroonian mother (whose lineage was Bulu) and a

father.Interview
with D. Misha Turner, Detroit, Michigan, 2006. While still a youth, he moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he received his educationGeorge Collinet biography
pri.org and lived in Neris-les-Bains with his paternal grandmother.

Career

His broadcasting career began in the early 1960s"Bio: Hip Deep Producers and Staff"
''RockPaperScissors.biz'', 2002. at

."Message on the radio"
''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', 30 July 2005. From 1965 to the late 1990s, he hosted a morning radio show on VoA which boasted an audience of over 120 million people.Scheuerman, Dan
"From Maxi Voom Voom to ''Afropop''"
, ''Humanities'', Vol. 29, No. 2, March/April 2008. This show made him famous in many African countries and was notable for his encyclopedic knowledge about African pop and his enormous enthusiasm for the music and musicians. His exuberant personality broadcast well and made him a household name to many, at all levels of society. Although he moved to the United States in 1959, and still resides there, during the 1970s and 1980s he worked in Paris with African musicians to develop their music and sustain their musical heritage. In 1988 he began hosting the radio program ''Afropop Worldwide'', which he continues to do while also working on television programs and films. Collinet has been instrumental in creating the Maracas D'Or (the African version of the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s) as well as "the first journal in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

devoted to contemporary African music". Collinet has directed as well as developed television productions as well as films. George Collinet Productions (a.k.a. G C Productions) is based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 2007 he started the popular weekly podcast at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

in Washington, D.C., called "On the Move".

Personal life

Georges Collinet resides in northwest Washington, D.C., with his wife, Louise (Cooki) and son Georges-Alexandre.

Notes

External links

Afropop Worldwide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collinet, Georges African-American radio personalities American broadcasters American public radio personalities Living people Year of birth uncertain 21st-century African-American people 20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people) Cameroonian emigrants to France