Youssoupha Mabiki (; born August 29, 1979), better known by his nickname Youssoupha is a French rapper of Congolese descent.

Early life and career

He was born to a Congolese father, the musician and

Congo-Kinshasa The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

political figure

Tabu Ley Rochereau Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a Congolese rumba singer and musician. He was the leader of ''Orchestre Afrisa International'', as well as one of Africa's most influe ...

and a Senegalese mother. After spending his childhood in Congo-Kinshasa, at the age of 10, he moved to France to live with relatives in Beziers, then Osny, Cergy and Sartrouville. He finished his French baccalauréat at Académie de Versailles with high grades and continued with Cultural Mediation, Communication at Roanne and La Guillotière. After obtaining his master's degree, he dedicated himself to music. His first album ''Frères Lumières'' was a trio with two other friends. They released a maxi single. He was also involved in many musical projects including the album ''Tendance'' by the band Bana Kin (with Sinistre Kozi Philo and Mic genie). His own street DVD was released at end of 2005 as ''Eternel Recommencement'' followed in 2006 and was signed to Hostile record label. After working with a number of renowned rappers, he released his debut studio album in March 2007 titled ''À chaque frère'' ("To Every Brother") containing collaborations from Diam's, Kool Shen, S'Pi and Mike Génie. His second album came out in October 2009 called ''Sur les chemins du retour'' ("On the Ways of Return"), alongside an international tour. In preparation of his third album, he also released a downloadable Digi-tape ''En noir et blanc - En attendant Noir Désir'' ("Black & White, Waiting for Black Desire") where he included some remixes of the album. In January 2012, he released his third studio album ''Noir désir'' ("Black Desire") featuring Taipan, Corneille, S-Pi, Sam's, Indila, LFDV and his own father Tabu Ley Rochereau" On 22 April 2025, Youssoupha—alongside co-headliners Fally Ipupa and

Gims Gandhi Alimasi Djuna (born 6 May 1986), known professionally as Maître Gims and more recently just Gims (stylized in all caps), is a Congolese singer, rapper, producer, and songwriter. He grew up in France and currently lives in France and Moro ...

—curated and led a sold-out

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

, ''Solidarité Congo'', at the

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

. The philanthropic event, which assembled 30 prominent artists from the French rap scene as well as internationally acclaimed and Congolese artists, sought to mobilize resources for children impacted by the Rwandan-backed M23 insurgency in eastern DRC. The entirety of the proceeds was designated for

Dadju Dadju Alimasi Nsungula (; born 2 May 1991), better known by the mononym Dadju or at times Prince Dadj, is a French-Congolese singer. He was signed to the label Wati B and in 2017 signed with Polydor Records of Universal Music Group. He was a m ...

's Give Back Charity. Initially slated for 7 April, the event was postponed in observance of the International Day of Remembrance of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In popular culture

*He took part as songwriting teacher at the French reality television program ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

''. *In 2009, French journalist Éric Zemmour opened a lawsuit against him accusing him of public threats for diabolizing the '' banlieues''. Youssoupha responded in an interview with ''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

'' that he advocated non-violence, but was pointing out the contradictions of Zemmour. He also responded with his single ''Menace de mort'' (meaning Death threat in English) with clips from various television programs quoting anti-immigrant sentiments expressed by media figure

*His song ''La Foule'' featured in the second episode of the first season of the Amazon streaming series '' The Boys (TV series), The Boys''.

Accolades

* MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 - Best Francophone (Nominated)

Decorations

* Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (2016)

Discography

Albums

Singles

As featured artist

Other charting songs

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Youssoupha Living people 1979 births French male rappers Black French musicians Black French rappers Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent French people of Senegalese descent Musicians from Kinshasa People from Sartrouville