Baloji Live at DRM

Baloji whose name means “qizard” in Swahili, was born in The Democratic Republic of Congo in 1978. At the age of four, he and his father moved to Belgium where he later discovered hip-hop, graffiti, rap and dance.

At the age of 15, Baloji became a member of the Starflam Collective, a leading Collective within Belgian hip-hop. Following some disagreements Baloji left the group in 2004, also turning his back to music for a while. After winning a poetry competition and receiving a letter from his mother who he had not spoken to since 1981, Baloji rediscovered the joys of creating music. Baloji’s first release “Hotel Impala” (2008) went gold and won several prestigious prizes in France for both lyrics and music.

Following the release of “Hotel Impala” Baloji felt a need to go back to DR Congo and explore his roots.. All the recordings from his trip to Congo were gathers on the album “Kinshasa Succursale” (2011) featuring some of Congo’s most influential musicians. Baloji is now touring with his new band that he has named Orchestre de la Katuba, serving steaming hot live shows.

Line’up: Baloji (vocals), Dizzy Mondjeku (Guitar), Saidou Llboudo (drummer), Didier Likeng (Bass), Philippe Ekoka (keyboard)