Saga Douk

Born on May 22, 1974 as Stéphane Hamidou Doukouré in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, it was under the pseudonym Douk Saga that the general public came to know the Ivorian. After graduating in computer science in Abidjan, he moved to Paris in the early 2000s to pursue his academic and professional career. There, he met many of his compatriots, including Molaré, Lino Versace and Boro Sanguy, with whom he joined forces under the banner of La Jet Set. Together, they invented new dance steps in Parisian discotheques and gradually shaped what became known as coupé-décalé, which was exported to Côte d'Ivoire. More than just a musical style, coupé-décalé became a dance step and a way of dressing, and Douk Saga became one of its leading figures. Nicknamed "Président", the festive music contrasted with the country's complicated political situation in the early 2000s. Douk Saga then signed hits that got the Ivorian population dancing, with his first cassette Sagacité (2003) or on the tracks "Douk Saga en fête" or "Coupé-décalé". Collected in 2005 on the album Héros national bouche-bée, his hits made him a key figure in coupé-décalé. Suffering from an illness, Douk Saga was taken to hospital in Ouagadougou, where he died on October 12, 2005, aged 32.