As we countdown the days ‘til Lous and the Yakuza first album “GORE” release, we decided to introduce you to her story and her music.
Marie-Pierra Kakoma, 24, is a Congolese-Belgian artist born in Lubumashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from a Rwandan mother and Congolese father who were prominent doctors in Congo. Her interest in music began at a very young age, as she was surrounded by classical works of Mozart, Chopin, Vivaldi, and Beethoven due to her father's interest in the European classical music.
Lous and The Yakuza grew up in Congo, her mother fled to Belgium with her sister due to her imprisonment during the Second Congo War because of her ethnicity. They would then relocate to Rwanda with Lous and officially move to Belgium altogether in 2011.
She began writing her own music at the age of 7 and started sending demo to various record labels such as Columbia Records by the age of 15 when her family relocated to Belgium in the wake of the Rwandan genocide.
At the age of 18 she was disinherited by her parents for wanting to be a singer instead of following the family’s footsteps in medicine studies and was kicked out of her home the following year.
In the period of homelessness that followed, she lived on the streets for several months before settling in a music studio, where she would sleep and record music, while commuting back and forth between a variety of service jobs. Over three years, she recorded 52 songs and seven EPs.
Kakoma adopted the moniker Lous and the Yakuza from an anagram for soul, the source of her musical passion, and Yakuza, Japan's organized crime syndicate, the name of which she uses to describe her "crew" of collaborators on whom she relies to create her music.
She was discovered by her current manager Miguel Fernandez who found one of her releases online.
At the beginning of 2017 she put together a band in order to achieve her goal to make an album. The band performed in many clubs in Brussels and definitely became a staple of the underground Brussels music scene.
In late 2017, Lous was invited to perform an acoustic set for La ChillZone, after which she was signed to Columbia Records through Sony Music in France, at the age of 22.
She looked for the right producer for over six month until she ended up on music by El Guincho, who produced Rosalia’s “Malamente”.
Lous released her debut single "Dilemme" on September 19, 2019, which was produced by El Guincho and Ponko. The song propelled her into prominence after it received viral acclaim, accumulating more than 10 million streams on Spotify, 3.8 million views on YouTube, and topping Spotify Italia's Viral 50 chart.
A remix featuring Italian rapper Tha Supreme and Italian singer Mara Sattei was released on April 1, 2020.
In July 2020 Lous was invited to perform at the prominent YouTube channel COLORS where she released her single “Bon Acteur” (Good Actor) which talks about her relationship with a man who misled her and who was very good at masking his true intentions towards her.
She designed the tattoo, titled “les mains levées vers le ciel” (hands lifted toward the sky), as a symbol meant to represent two arms connecting the earth to the sky.
Lous new album entitled GORE is finally coming out on all platforms on October 15th 2020 and we truly can’t wait to listen to it and watch her new unique visuals.
In the meanwhile, here’s a list of her amazing music videos and performances always accompanied by an impeccable style that also makes her an absolute fashion icon. "TOUT EST GORE" (Director: Wendy Morgan )
DILEMME (Director: Wendy Morgan )
"BON ACTEUR" | A COLORS SHOW
AMIGO (Director: Wendy Morgan)
Click here to Pre-Order Lous And The Yakuza new album GORE
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