Khadja Nin (born 27 June 1959) is a Burundian singer and musician. Nin was born in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, the youngest of a family of eight. Her father was a senior diplomat and Minister of the Interior of the

Kingdom of Burundi The Kingdom of Burundi (), also known as Kingdom of Urundi (), was a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Burundi, Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of ''List of kings of Burundi, mwami'') ruled over both Hutus and ...

. She studied music at an early age like most of her brothers and sisters. With her exceptional singing voice, at the age of seven she became one of the lead vocalists in the

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

choir and performed in the local cathedral. She left Burundi for

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 ...

in 1975 and married in 1978. In 1980 she emigrated to Belgium with her two-year-old son. In 1985 she obtained a contract with

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations Music publishing companies * Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 ** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that was pur ...

. Her second album, a 1994 release entitled '' Ya Pili'', was critically acclaimed. Her breakthrough came in 1996 with her widely popular album '' Sambolera'', which was sung in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

Kirundi Kirundi (), also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language and the national language of Burundi. It is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, and the two form parts of the Rwanda-Rundi dialect continuum spoken in Buru ...

, and French. In 1997 she performed the song "

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

" in a duet with

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

on the album '' Friends For Life''. She successfully used a blend of African rhythms and modern pop to create her own unique brand of music. One of her most popular songs is ''Sina Mali, Sina Deni'', a translated cover version of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's song ''Free''. The first album was released in 1992, sung in Swahili. But it is best known in France in 1995 with the title Sambolera Mayi Son, the title of the second album, Ya Pili (The second). The third album is a compilation of old and new titles. Jeanne Moreau makes the clip illustrating her song Mama, where she talks about her mother, on her fourth album Ya ... . The texts of this album are in Swahili or Kirundi (for the chorus of the title Mama). The album also includes a cover of a piece by Gabonese musician Pierre Akendengué, Africa Obota, and a song by Stevie Wonder, "Free" that she renamed "Sina mali, sina deni" (I am neither rich nor indebted). Another piece pays tribute to

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

, and a song calls for easing the embargo imposed on Burundi. In January 2000, she sang at

AccorHotels Arena Accor Arena (originally known as the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy), also known as Bercy Arena, is an indoor sports arena and concert hall in the neighbourhood of Bercy, on the Boulevard de Bercy, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France ...

(at the time Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy) with

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and

Cheb Mami Mohamed Khelifati (; born 11 July 1966), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (), is an Algerians, Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometimes in Mashriqi Arabic, Eastern Arabic dialects or ...

. She remarried in 2006 to Belgian racing driver

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ickx twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in and , and won eig ...

, and they settled in Monaco. In this marriage, she has had a son who lives in Belgium. In 2018, she was a jury member at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, under the presidency of

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

, alongside actresses

Léa Seydoux Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne (; born 1 July 1985) is a French actress. Prolific in both French cinema and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, she has received five César Award nominations, two Lumière Awards, a Palme d'Or a ...

and

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe ...

, director

Ava DuVernay Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, NAACP Image Awards, a British Academy Film Awards, ...

, actor

Chang Chen Chang Chen (born 14 October 1976) is a Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in '' A Brighter Summer Day'' (1991), '' Happy Together'' (1997), '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000), '' Three Times'' (2005), ''Brotherhood of Blad ...

and directors

Robert Guédiguian Robert Jules Guédiguian (; born 3 December 1953) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Most of his films star Ariane Ascaride and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. Life and career Guédiguian is the son of a German mother and an Arm ...

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...

and

Andrey Zvyagintsev Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev (, ; born 6 February 1964) is a Russian filmmaker. His film '' The Return'' (2003) won him a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Following ''The Return'', Zvyagintsev directed '' The Banishment'' (2007) and '' ...

Discography

* 1992 – ''Khadja Nin'' * 1994 – ''Ya Pili'' * 1996 – ''Sambolera'' * 1998 – ''Ya ...''

References

External links

Khadja Nin
France Culture 1959 births Living people Burundian women singers Swahili poetry {{Burundi-bio-stub