Youssoupha

Who is Youssoupha?

Youssoupha Mabiki, better known by his mononym Youssoupha is a French rapper of Congolese origin.

He was born to Congolese parents and a Senegalese grand mother. His father was the musician and Congo-Kinshasa political figure Tabu Ley Rochereau. After passing his childhood in Congo-Kinshasa, at 10, he moved to France to live with relatives in Beziers, then Osny, Cergy and Sartrouville. He finished his French baccaleureat at Académie de Versailles with high grades and continued with Cultural Mediation and Communication at Roanne and La Guillotière. After obtaining his masters degree, he consecrated himself to music.

He first formed Frères Lumières 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.

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 containing collaborations from Diam's, Kool Shen, S'Pi and Mike Génie.