We proudly present the newest member of our Top Notch Belgium family (Universal Music Belgium’s hiphop label): Baloji.

Born in the Republic of Congo and raised in Belgium, this artist in motion evolved from former member of Starflam into the multi-talented artist he is today. A musician, a poet, a multi-awarded film director, a man of images and ideas. His self-taught visual artistry earned him the Best Concert prize at the 2018 D6BELS Music Awards and the Best Video prize (for ‘Spoiler’) at the 2017 D6BELS Music Awards.

Touring some of the biggest festivals (like Glastonbury (UK), Lowlands (NL), Pukkelpop, Les Ardentes,…), Baloji takes the stage with his band and treats the audience to electrifying live performances and mesmerizing set designs. People enjoy his live shows all over the world: he played more than hundreds of shows in France, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Congo, Poland, Germany, Iceland, Morocco, South Africa, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Rwanda.

Baloji means “man of science” in Swahili, but during the colonial period, that meaning shifted as a result of Christian evangelisation, to signify “man of the occult sciences” and then “sorcerer”. Baloji was born in Lubumbashi (DRC Congo) and grew up in Belgium. As a teenager, he started his first rap collective, Starflam. In 2008, Baloji releases his first solo record “Hotel Impala” (certified gold) conceived as a reply to a letter he received from his mother after a 25-year absence. Three years after the release of his debut solo album, his Congolese reinterpretation Kinshasa Succursale (2011) was awarded 4 stars by the world’s press (NYT, Guardian, El Pais, Les Inrocks). “137 Avenue Kaniama” was Baloji’s third album – it appeared in 2018 on the British label Bella Union (John Grant, Fleet Foxes, Beach House…). That same year Baloji did a featuring with Bazart ("Niet Te Dichtbij/ Côte à Côte") and his track "L'Hiver Indien" was used as the soundtrack of the video game FIFA.

Baloji directs his own videos and creates the visuals for his varied projects. His first short fiction film, “Kaniama show”, was released in March 2018. It takes the form of a satire on African propaganda TV shows. His short movies “Zombies” and “Peau de Chagrin / Bleu de Nuit” (2019) won several international awards at Paris Film Festival, Bucharest Fashion Film Festival, Tourne-Films Festival Lausanne, No Direct Flight Festival London,... Baloji's first long form film "AUGURE", for which he has written the screenplay, is planned for 2020. The soundtrack for the film is as well the new music album by Baloji.

LIVE

  • 21/9 Festival La Mercé, Barcelona(ES)
  • 28/9 Festival Poulpaphone, Boulogne Sur Mer(FR)
  • 12/10 Manège Fonk, Liege(BE)
  • 29/11 Festival Africolor, Pantin(FR)
  • 30/11 Le Plan, Ris-Orangis(FR)

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