Nayanka Bell
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Biography
Nayanka Bell, born in 1963 as Aka Louise de Maurillac, got her first taste of music from her grandmother, who used to play traditional tunes for her on the violin. This childhood memory remains engraved in her memory and influences her career. At the age of 18, she joined the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne orchestra as a backing singer, before officially launching her solo career with a successful debut album, Just A Boogie. Arranged by Jacob Desvarieux of the group Kassav', the album reflects the influences of Ivorian music and disco, and popularizes Nayanka Bell's music with the hit "Iwassado". On her arrival in Paris, she produced her second album If You Came To Go (1984), once again with the help of Jacob Desvarieux, Boncana Maïga and Georges Decimus. Her attachment to her homeland, Côte d'Ivoire, can be heard on this album, to which she pays tribute with a modern use of traditional instruments and tracks that tell her story in the Malinké language ("Djama"). A decade later, in 1994, it was her album Visa that won her critical acclaim: a prize at the Lions d'Or awards in Paris and the Africa Music Award the same year. Now a true ambassador of Ivorian music, Nayanka Bell contributes to her country's international cultural influence, again in 2000 with her fourth album Brin De Folie, and featuring French rapper Passi in 2003 on the track "Seul à Seul".
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