Princess Erika (born Erika Dobong'na; 5 April 1964, Paris) is a French singer and actress with Cameroonian origins. She is particularly known for her reggae songs "Trop de bla-bla" ou "Faut qu'j'travaille".

Biography

In 1982, Erika formed with her sisters a band named Blackheart Daughters founded by her elder sister « Princess Mataji Maa Tejomayee Devi ( born Esther Dobong’Na Essiene) also known as Estha Divine, then joined the band Princess and the Royal Sound, with whom she made several tours, opening for Jamaican singer

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

. In 1988, she recorded "Trop de bla-bla" in London and achieved a minor success in France (#39 on the Top 50, but later, the song became famous for being used for a TV advert for

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

). She released the single "Tendresse" and her first album in 1992. She opened the concerts for

Les Négresses Vertes Les Négresses Vertes ("The Green Negresses"), formed in 1987, is a French music group that combines world music and some aspects of alternative rock. Tracks often feature steel-string acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar and accordion, with some c ...

. In 1995, she released her second studio album, ''D'origine'', and the lead single, "Faut qu'j'travaille", hit No. 15 in France. Two years later, she recorded a duet with

Marc Lavoine Marc Lucien Lavoine (; born 6 August 1962) is a French singer and actor. In 1985, his hit single " Elle a les yeux revolver..." reached number four on the French Singles chart and marked the beginning of his successful singing career. He starre ...

, "Les Hommes sont des Femmes comme les autres". She participated in

Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés (, "The Tossers" or "The Bastards") is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur. Founded at the initiative of Coluche in 1986, a year after the Restaurants du Cœur, ...

and wrote several songs for various artists such as "Embrasse-moi" for the Nubians. In 2004, she also participated in the compilation ''Agir Réagir'' intended to raise funds to help the Moroccans who survived an earthquake on 24 February 2002. In 2005, she was a contestant on ''

La Ferme Célébrités ''La Ferme Célébrités'' is the French version of the international TV show '' The Farm'', produced in France by Endemol and broadcast on TF1. A certain number of B-List celebrities (about 14) appear on it. The show was running in 2004 and 200 ...

''. She organized the four editions of the concerts ', performed with many other artists in a charity fundraiser. She covered the songs "La Vie en rose" and "J'ai encore rêvé d'elle" with Pierpoljak on the cover album ''Il est 5 heures Kingston s'éveille''. She was an occasional actress in films and theatre, and appeared in ''Le Petit Trésor''.

Family

Father: Julien Édouard Dobong’Na Essiene (died in 2022) Mother: Marie-Claire Ngo Matip spouse Dobong’Na Essiene Erika has two children : Julien (born in 1982) and Oudima (2003). Elder sister: Princess Mataji Maa Tejomayee Devi ( born Esther Dobong’Na Essiene) also known as Estha Divine Younger sister: Eva Dobong’Na Essiene aka sister Hewan (died in 2011) Younger sister: Elga Dobong’Na Essiene

Discography

Albums

* 1992 : ''Princess Erika'' * 1995 : ''D'origine'' * 1999 : ''Tant qu'il y aura'' * 2005 : ''À l'épreuve du temps'' * 2011 : ''Juste Erika'' * 2022 : J'suis pas une sainte

Singles

* 1988 : "Trop de bla-bla" – No. 39 in France * 1989 : "Tendresse" * 1995 : "Faut qu'j'travaille" – No. 15 in France, No. 38 in Belgium (Wallonia) * On s'en va * C'est ma vie * Nouvelle Génération * Sur la route du reggae

Filmography

* 1989 : ''Maman de Romain Goupil'' * 1998 : ''Charité biz'ness'' * 2003 : ''

Les Marins perdus ''Les Marins perdus'' is a 2003 French film based on a novel by Jean-Claude Izzo. It was written and directed by Claire Devers. Cast * Bernard Giraudeau : Diamantis * Miki Manojlović : Abdul Aziz * Sergio Peris-Mencheta : Nedim * Marie Trintign ...

'' * 2005 : ''

Beauty Shop ''Beauty Shop'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Bille Woodruff. The film serves as a spin-off of the ''Barbershop'' film series, and stars Queen Latifah as Gina Norris, a character first introduced in the 2004 film '' Barbershop 2: ...

'' (French dub) * 2005 : ''Quand les anges s'en mêlent...'' * 2005 : ''Le Jardin de Papa de Zeka Laplaine'' * 2006 : ''Camping Paradis'' (TV film) * 2008 : ''Camping Paradis 2'' (TV film)

References

Princess Erika's peak positions in France, on Lescharts.com

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Erika Living people 1964 births Black French musicians French people of Cameroonian descent French women singers Singers from Paris Actresses from Paris Black French actresses