Stéphane Gagba (; born May 13, 1998), better known professionally as Stéphane Legar (), is a

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

lese-Israeli singer, dancer, and model. His

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

is either Legar or Le Gar – short for Le Garçon, "the boy" in French. He is often simply referred to by his mononym Stéphane.

Early life

Stéphane Gagba was born in

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( ) is a city on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In , it had a population of . History British Mandate Bat Y ...

, Israel, to

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

parents from

. His parents were foreign diplomats working in the

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n embassy in Israel at the time. He has an older sister. As a child, he spent most of his holidays visiting his relatives in Togo. As a child, he was nominated for

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

from Israel – due to lacking citizenship – as he only had a

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...

status. Although, he was a citizen of Togo (Togolese passport). Until the age of 10, his parents protected him from this awareness. Eventually, he acquired an

Israeli citizenship Israel has two primary pieces of legislation governing the requirements for citizenship, the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew has the unrestricted right to immigrate to Israel and become an Israeli citizen. Individuals ...

as well – then, he enrolled into IDF

Israeli military The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, an ...

service, on 3 May 2021. Israel Hayom
At the age of 12, Legar moved with his family to

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

, Israel. He attended the youth village school

Mikveh Israel Mikveh Israel () is a youth village and boarding school in the Tel Aviv District of central Israel, established in 1870. It was the first Jewish agricultural school in what is now Israel and indeed the first modern Jewish settlement in Palestine ...

, in its French sector. He enlisted in August 2017 to the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and served in a unit responsible for explaining the recruitment process to high schoolers.

Career

At 14, he started as a model for the Castro clothing chain. After that, as an acclaimed dancer, he won the Israeli hip-hop dance championship twice. In 2016, he was cast to dance in a

Static & Ben El Tavori Static & Ben El Tavori () were an Israeli musical pop duo comprising the singers Liraz Russo (aka 'Static') and Ben El Tavori. Their musical producer was Yarden Peleg (aka 'Jordi'). Biography Static Liraz Russo (; born 8 December 1990), best kn ...

clip. In October 2016, he released his first hit song, Step Fun, which got millions of online views and trending dances from the song. In 2017, he made a song with Israeli singer

Noa Kirel Noa Kirel (born ) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, actress, model, television host, and a reality television program judge in ''Israel's Got Talent''. She has won six MTV Europe Music Awards for MTV Europe Music Award for Best Israeli Act, Best ...

named "Tikitas"(). Ever since then he has been one of the most successful hip-hop artists in Israel, and has fans from the whole world(

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 ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

mainly). On January 15th, 2019, He collaborated with

, as well as

Eden Ben Zaken Eden Pessia Ben Zaken (; born ) is an Israeli singer who gained recognition following her participation in the first season of the TV show '' X Factor Israel'', in which she placed second. She has been awarded Israel's woman of the year 3 times ...

, on the track "Yassu"(). The song features a Greek-inspired instrumental and music video concept. The track would end up being performed for the "The Next Eurovision Star" program that same year, with each artist performing their part of the song, alongside an equally Greek-inspired stage and costume design. In 2020, his song, "Comme ci, comme ça" won the international educational competition, "Manie Musicale."

Personal life

His native language is

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), ...

, but he is also fluent in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, Ewe (

Togolese The demographics of Togo include Ethnic group, ethnicity, population density, age, education level, health, economic status and Religion in Togo, religious affiliations. Togo’s population is estimated to have grown to four times its size betwe ...

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 ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Discography

*2016: "Step Fun" *2017: "Double Dutch", "Like That" (ft. Julieta), "Winner" *2018: "Comme Ci, Comme Ca" *2020: "Rak Banot" ll (ft. Itay Levi), "Vida Loca", "Favela", "תראי מה עשית" (Look What You Did) *2021: "Flexin", "Merci", "J'avance", "נעים מאוד" (Nice to Meet You) *2022: "Speed Life", "Chérie Coco", "קרקס" (Circus) *2023: "רק אני יודע" (Only I Know) *2024: "לפני, אחרי" (Before, After)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Legar, Stephane 1998 births 21st-century Israeli male singers Living people People from Bat Yam People from Holon Israeli Christians Togolese male singers Israeli people of Togolese descent Naturalized citizens of Israel Togolese artists