Keblack’s Quick Snapshot
Cédric Matéta Nkomi also known as Keblack is a rapper and singer from Congolese (DRC) origins. He was born in Creil, France on January 30, 1992. Kelabck’s love for music came from his brother, rapper Black Chat (Black Cat). Black Chat inspired Keblack’s scene name, as Keblack revealed in some interviews.
In 2014, he released a freestyle video of his composition named Tout Va Bien (It’s All Right) on Youtube. He composed the song to reflect the opposite of his feelings at the time. It was also a response to a challenge thrown at him by a Facebook friend. On the video, he sings his composition over a piano cover of John Legend’s famous song All Of Me. His freestyle video quickly gathered a lot of views. Youssoupha’s label Bomayé Music (or BMYE) noticed Keblack and managed to have him sign with them in 2015, kickstarting his professional career. Since then, Keblack’s continued to rise in popularity, mostly across Europe and Africa.
Keblack’s original video, singing Tout Va Bien on top of John Legend song All Of Me.
A jumpstarted Career
After Keblack jumpstarted his career with a freestyle video and BMYE recruitment, he started releasing many singles. Then came another huge mediatic coverage. Two players of France’s national soccer team taped themselves dancing on his song J’ai déconné (I messed up) during 2016 UEFA European Championship. By the way, France lost 1-0 to Portugal in final. However, Keblack saw his popularity boosted once again.
In 2017, Cédric released his first album Premier Etage with Bomayé Music. Upon its release, the album reached the second (2nd) rank of the French iTunes performance chart. Its track Bazardée stood out among others. It discusses a challenging episode of parenting a teenager, and its aftermath. Premier Etage won Keblack his first gold disk with more than 50,000 copies sold, both physically and digitally.
“Bazardée, discussing a challenging episode of parenting a teenager.”
Premier Etage was followed by Appartement 105, his second album. The album hit the stores in May 2018. The 29-track release further cemented Keblack notoriety. It also allowed the young star to express himself on many societal subjects, and collaborate with many other famous musicians.
Keblack is very popular among and beyond those who like Hip-Hop and R&B. The variety of subjects in his songs makes them worth exploring.
Some Facts about Keblack:
- Unlike some internationally recognized musician from DRC, Keblack publicly takes pride in his origin and incorporates Lingala words in some of his songs.
- He grew up with Naza, another singer of the BMYE label. Naza signed with BMYE through Keblack.
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