Lovy Longomba Elias (born 25 November 1986), also known as Prophet Lovy Elias also known by his stage name Lovy Longomba, is a

Kenyan The Demographics of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census. A national census was conducted in 1999, although t ...

Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

( DRCongo)-American pastor, producer, songwriter, musician, and life coach.

Early life

Lovy Longomba Elias was born on November 25, 1986, in

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi Riv ...

. He is of

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

n and

ancestry. His father Lovy Longomba Sr. was a member of Orchestra Super Mazembe, a Congolese band, and his grandfather

Vicky Longomba Victor Longomba Besange Lokuli, commonly known as Vicky Longomba (23 December 1932 – 12 March 1988), was a Congolese singer. Born in Léopoldville, present-day Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he was a founding member of Tout ...

was a member of

TPOK Jazz OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (short for ''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz''), was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco Luambo, Franco. The group disbanded in 1993. ...

. Elias started his musical career after high school and co-founded a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in ...

musical group called

Longombas Lovy and Christian Longombas were a duo from Kenya who performed a mixture of Hip hop and Soukous. Christian Longomba was diagnosed with a brain tumor in May 2015, and underwent surgery to have it removed. He later required a second surgery due to ...

, with his brother Christian and cousin Masengo.The group entered the Kenyan music scene in 2002 with their song "Dondosa", which became a national hit. Follow-up singles were "Piga Makofi", "Shika More" and "Vuta Pumz". Their debut album Chukua was released in 2005 by Ogopa DJs. In 2003, they left Ogopa DJs record label together with Deux Vultures and Mr. Googz & Vinnie Banton, and formed their own label, Bad Man Camp. Deux Vultures and the Longombas, however, later returned to Ogopa The group has won several awards in Kenya. In 2007, Elias and his brother relocated to

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

, where the group was disbanded. He became a pastor and focused only on writing and producing for established artists. In 2014, Elias was recognized as one of the producers and songwriters for "Change Your Life" by Iggy Azalea, which was nominated for a

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 ...

Revelation Church of Jesus Christ

In 2013, Elias started a prayer group in

Woodland Hills, CA Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans of the Fernandeño-T ...

. He held weekly teachings, bible studies, and fellowship in his living room. Later, Elias established Revelation Church of Jesus Christ. By 2016, Elias began renting out space in

Van Nuys, CA Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 190 ...

, to accommodate their needs. On July 14, 2016, Elias started holding fellowships in Van Nuys, CA. In 2017, he founded Revelation Church of Jesus Christ and led sermons as head pastor. The congregation has grown to more than a thousand members with more online. Elias is also a life coach to celebrities and athletes. On April 3, 2019, Elias started live streaming his teachings on platforms such as

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. Elias regularly live streams his teachings, with past teachings archived on YouTube. On Feb 7, 2021, Elias relocated Revelation Church of Jesus Christ's headquarters and worship centre to

Simi Valley, CA Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater ...

Personal life

Elias was married to the former Idah, nee Onyango, Longomba. They have a son, Andrew. On June 16, 2017, he filed for a dissolution of marriage with a minor child in Los Angeles Superior Court. In 2020, Elias legally changed his full name to Lovy Elias. He is currently married to Maggy Kria Soas as of 2023. His brother, Christian Hulu Longomba, born on June 30, 1984, died March 12, 2021, in Los Angeles, after a long illness. On April 3, 2021, Elias received an

honorary doctoral degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from Next Dimension University, an

unaccredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

Early life

Revelation Church of Jesus Christ

Personal life

Songwriting and producing

References

External links