Pierrette Adams (born 5 May 1962) is a singer, nicknamed "Mère Z", from the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, who was based for many years in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, and since 2003, has been based in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. She has released seven albums since 1994, plus a greatest hits disc in 2004.

Early life

Pierrette Adams was born on 5 May 1962, in

Pointe-Noire Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...

. Before she worked professionally as a singer, Adams was an air hostess for the now defunct pan-African airline

Air Afrique Air Afrique was a Pan-African airline, that was mainly owned by many West African countries for most of its history. It was established as the official transnational carrier for francophone West and Central Africa, because many of these cou ...

Career

Adams' career as a singer did not really succeed until she relocated to

, in

. With the assistance of Boncana Maïga, of

Africando Africando is a musical project formed in 1992 to unite New York City, New York–based salsa music, salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. Musicians from other African countries were later included under the name Africando All Stars. Salsa has ...

, she was able to start her career as a singer and release her debut album ''Journal Intime'' in 1994. In 2003, she moved to

, because her husband had to move there for work. Her 2003 album ''Anesthésie'' was well-received and she was nominated for the 2003

Kora All Africa Music Awards The KORA All Africa Music Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. The awards were founded in 1994 by Benin born businessman, Ernest Adjovi, after a discussion in Namibia with the country's President H ...

. She had a "difficult childhood", and her songs cover topics including child abuse, injustice and infidelity.

Discography

* ''Journal Intime'' (1994) * '' Mal de Mère'' (1996) * ''Je Vous Salue Maris'' (1999) * ''Absolument'' (2000) * ''Anesthésie'' (2003) * ''Best Of 10 Ans + Inédit "Nasuba"'' (2004) * ''Coma Profond '' (2007) * ''7e Jour '' (2012)

References

1962 births Living people Republic of the Congo musicians African feminists Republic of the Congo expatriates in Ivory Coast Expatriates in Senegal {{RCongo-bio-stub