Real name Joseph Mohamed Otayeck, the Franco-Ivorian musician Mao Otayeck has been playing guitar since the age of nine. Over the years, he has sampled a wide range of musical styles, from reggae and rock to Mandingo, Latino, Zouk, funk and even Celtic music. After spending his youth in Côte d'Ivoire, he moved to Paris, where he met Cheick Tidiane Seck, a leading figure in Mandingo music, and Tony Allen, Fela Kuti's former drummer. In 1993, he joined Solar System, the group that accompanied Alpha Blondy, as bandleader and guitarist. He remained with the group for just over a decade, consolidating his network while working on numerous albums as guitarist, songwriter, composer and arranger. A new turning point in his career came in 2005, when Stevie Wonder heard the song "Renewal", a hymn to peace composed by Mao Otayeck, which gave rise to a fruitful collaboration between the two men, culminating in 2008 in their first solo album, Yeredon, featuring tracks such as "Sene", "Suruku", "Aye" and "Carry On", on which Stevie Wonder's famous harmonica vibrates. After living and working in France for over two decades, the musician moved to Los Angeles, from where he launched his tour and ran his own Tiapa Records label.