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King Mensah
(Togo)
Biography
King Mensah, known as the 'Golden Voice of Togo', is one of the most popular
singers from Togo, a small country squeezed between Ghana and Benin. Born from a Togolese father and a Beninese
mother in 1971, he started performing with a 'ballet' of traditional and folkoric music when he was nine years old.
Later, he became member of Les Dauphins de la Capitale in Lomé. In the early 1990s, he was acting with
the Ki-Yi M'Bock Theatre in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire). He worked as an actor and singer in Europe,
Japan, France, French Guiana and Benin.
Based in Lomé, Togo's capital, King Mensah records his first album « Madjo » in Paris, he produced a number of albums since. On a humanitarian level, he created Fondation King Mensah aiming at protecting and educating orphans, and he created an orphanage in Agbodrafo (25 km east of Lomé).
In his music, King Mensah fuses elements of traditional Ewe music (Agbadza and Akpessé), and Kabye dance-drum music, with funk, reggae, and West African Afropop. He sings mainly in Ewe and French, about hope, the future and religion. He won several awards, such as a UNESCO Award in Paris in 1997, a Kora Award in 2000, a Tamani d'or (Golden Tamani) in Mali in 2005 and several prices in his home country, for instance Togo Music Awards for Best Album and for Best Artist in 2000).
Based in Lomé, Togo's capital, King Mensah records his first album « Madjo » in Paris, he produced a number of albums since. On a humanitarian level, he created Fondation King Mensah aiming at protecting and educating orphans, and he created an orphanage in Agbodrafo (25 km east of Lomé).
In his music, King Mensah fuses elements of traditional Ewe music (Agbadza and Akpessé), and Kabye dance-drum music, with funk, reggae, and West African Afropop. He sings mainly in Ewe and French, about hope, the future and religion. He won several awards, such as a UNESCO Award in Paris in 1997, a Kora Award in 2000, a Tamani d'or (Golden Tamani) in Mali in 2005 and several prices in his home country, for instance Togo Music Awards for Best Album and for Best Artist in 2000).
King Mensah
Born: 12 August 1971, as Papavi Ayaovi Mensah
Style: Afropop, Afrobeat
Discography
| Title | Year | Label | Remarks |
| Denyigba | 2020 | King Mensah Communication | |
| Togbui | 2017 | King Mensah Communication | |
| Soke | 2016 | King Mensah Communication | 6-track EP (CD-R) |
| Akpe | 2013 | King Mensah Communication | |
| Da | 2010 | Soleil Sud Prod | |
| Yetonam | 2006 | King Mensah Distribution | |
| Elom | 2002 | King Mensah Distribution | |
| Mensah, Mensah | 2000 | Africa Productions 00071-2 | |
| Edidodo | 1998 | King Mensah | |
| Madjo | 1996 | Bolibana | Also released as « Sessime » |
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Mensah
www.kingmensah.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Mensah
www.kingmensah.org/
Page added October 2012