eBusiness Weekly
Taurai Mangudhla
The youthful in their late 20s and younger, and avid rhumba music lovers would know him better than the older folk in their 50s.
Those in their 50s are likely more familiar with his mentor and compatriot, Koffi Olomide. Olomide dominated Zimbabwe’s music scene in 1997 and 1998 with his album Loi and tittle track.
It was in 1999 that he joined the music outfit Quartier Latin International, founded by Olomide in 1896.
Their stint was until 2006 when Fally Ipupa Nsimba, popularly known by his stage name Fally Ipupa, started his solo career.
Fally Ipuppa was Koffi’s composer, singer, guitarist and dancer. If you have listened to Koffi’s music after 1999, it is likely that the lyrics or some key elements such as the choreography and production was heavily influenced by Fally.
Fally, sadly, left the band and it was 11 years later that he was quoted as saying he left Olomide because of his bad leadership style that included ruling like a general.
After all that is Koffi’s nickname.
Born in December 1977 in Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Fally — also known as Dicap La Merveille translating to Dicap the wonder — is a dancer, musician, music producer, writer, singer-songwriter, choreographer, record producer, recording artist, and arranger.
He is multitalented and developed a lot of skills with small music groups in Kinshasa before finally making it to Olomide’s outfit.
He has hits like Eloko Oyo, Original and Service. He has featured a number of big names such as R Kelly on the track Nidja released earlier this year.
He did a collaboration with former G-Unit singer Olivia on a bilingual love song track called Chaise Electrique.
In Africa he has worked with Flavour and Dbanj among other artistes.
No stranger to the fame and success, Fally Ipupa get hits of more than 15 million on tracks uploaded on his Youtube channel and has a number of accolades to his name.
In 2007, he won the Kora Awards for Best Artist or Group from Central Africa before winning the MTV Africa Music Awards’s 2010 Best Video (for Sexy Dance) and Best Francophone Artiste.
He won best African at the Urban Awards and was nominated in the Best Live Act category at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2014.
He is currently among nominees for the Best international act BET Awards.
The 41-year-old artiste makes his debut appearance on Zimbabwean soil this Saturday, the 26th, at the 4 500-seater Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) under the banner of Genious “Ginimbi” Kadungure’s G-Entertainment which successfully hosted Davido’s 30 Billion Concert last month.
He will be making history and joining the list of foreign artistes who pulled Zimbabweans in their thousands to the HICC.
Fally joins Jamaican artistes like Coco T, Elephant Man, Jah Cure and Morgan Heritage as well as Canadian rock star Brian Adams, Nigerian pop artiste Davido and Tanzanian pop star Diamond Platnumz to perform at the majestic venue.
More recently, Zimbabwean greats like Oliver Mtukudzi, Alick Macheso, Winky D and Jah Prayzah have also made their mark at the giant venue.
Fally is not very popular, at least in Zimbabwe, judging by responses a random sample produced.
“Who is he?’” asked many, but his record speaks for itself.
He is great on the stage with his soft rhumba with a fusion of RnB and HipHip which appeals to all generations.
His live performance are superb for both those who like to enjoy a concert in the comfort of their seats and those who don’t miss an opportunity to dance. His unique choreography and vocals will surely wow fans.
Each instrument comes out clearly and blends with the melody of the vocals.
