Erickson Le Zoulou

Born Eric Bosiki on November 2, 1977 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Erickson le Zulu began singing as a child, at the age of nine, when he joined the church choir. His arrival in Ivory Coast changed his approach to music. He rubbed shoulders with many of the DJs of the day, frequenting the Abidjan maquis where they performed. Erickson began mixing alongside Inno 100 Versace and contributed to the prolific coupé décalé movement of the early 2000s in Côte d'Ivoire. In addition to his turntables, Erickson also began producing, and put his voice to good use on his first album, Suzana, released in 2003. The track "Souzana" was a big hit, and two other albums followed: Gloire (2007) and Main de Dieu (2008). His songwriting talents earned him the title of Best Male Artist of the Year at the 2006 RTI Music Awards. As the coupé décalé craze waned, Erickson left for France, where his output dwindled, before passing away on February 16, 2020 in Créteil following an illness.