In this video, there’s an elegant vibe as Lous and The Yakuza perform a Tiny Desk concert from the Book Bar in the Hôtel Grand Amour in Paris. But while the music is smooth, upbeat and warm, what lies beneath in Lous’ backstory, in her French lyrics, is, at times, deep and disturbing.

The video comes courtesy of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing netizens performances from across the world, in a stripped-down, intimate setting.

Lous – an anagram for “soul” – is Marie-Pierra Kakoma, a 24-year-old artist based in Belgium, but born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She came to Belgium as a refugee, after escaping war in the Congo. For her Tiny Desk (home) concert, she opens with her 2019 single, “Dilemme”. The song conjures up images of growing up in the Congo and Rwanda. “Living haunts me, everything that surrounds me made me mean,” she sings in French.

Lous’ songs are often set to Congolese rumba rhythms, filled with resilience, beauty and resistance. The chosen tracks come from her 2020 album, Gore, drawing on a life that saw her mother imprisoned in the Congo for being Rwandan, then separated from her during their escape to Belgium. They were eventually reunited, but Lous spent time adrift as a troubled teen, before pulling her life back together in pursuit of music and art.

Set list:

  • “Dilemme”
  • “Bon Acteur”
  • “Dans La Hess”
  • “Solo”
  • “Amigo”

Musicians:

  • Lous: vocals
  • Joseph Nelson: keys
  • Jamiel Blake: drums
  • Swaeli Mbappe: bass
  • Ayelya Douniama: vocals
  • Myriam Sow: vocals

View the original video here.

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