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Flashmag ! Issue 156 January 2025
In a candid interview , we revisited her career , intrepidly navigating the intricacies of a career rich in surprising setbacks . Koko Ateba told us almost everything about her life as an artist and single mother . At the age of 3 , she wanted to be like Cameroonian singing icon Anne Marie Nzié , and proclaimed it to anyone who would listen . However , it was at the age of 15 , when she arrived in Yaoundé , that she discovered a musical universe that sublimated her . She rubbed shoulders with artists such as Claude Ndam , Ottou Marcellin , Jean Yves Oloko , and many others with whom she put on shows . Later , it was Manu Dibango who took them under his wing , and she played with her fellow travelers in his “ Soir au village ” cabaret . Another iconic venue that contributed to Koko Ateba ’ s formation was the cabaret Le Philanthrope , in Mvog Ada , a red-light district of Cameroon ’ s capital city , where she added the liveliness of bikutsi rhythm to her style , rubbing shoulders with the likes of Moustik Ambassa and Ambroise Mvoundi ... After the 1982 single Si t ’ es mal dans ta peau and Engombo , it was in 1986 that the Cameroonian public and Africa really discovered Koko Ateba ’ s splendor , with hits such as Taxi , Je suis bien ici , Talk Talk , Yeme yel ayop and Nelson Mandela . A first album , entitled Talk Talk , became a veritable hit throughout Africa . A star was born , but the rest would be made up of challenges and unfair experiences . In 1989 , she was unjustly imprisoned by the Cameroonian authorities for having , according to certain indiscretions , sung the torments of an infertile woman in front of the then First Lady , during a gala evening . The connection was quickly made with Jeanne Irene Biya , who had never had a child . Worse still , rumors had it that she was having an affair with the President of the Republic , Paul Biya .
After this dark episode , Koko Ateba was exiled to France , where she tried to continue doing what she did best : music .
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