Damso

Biography

William Kalubi Mwamba (born 10 May 1992 in Kinshasa), better known by his stage name Damso (French: [damso]), is a Belgian-Congolese rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is popular in France, where all of his albums have been certified at least platinum. His brother is Aziz Loukambou, an automation engineer apprentice (Esix, Othua).

Early life and education

Kalubi was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) to a sociologist mother and cardiologist father. When he was nine years old, he and his family left the country for Belgium because of the Second Congo War which he speaks about in his song Graine de sablier ("the shots of the Kalashnikov keep me from dreaming"), Exutoire ("kill everyone even the pregnant women"), and K. Kin la belle ("oh Kin [Kinshasa] the beautiful, the one that's caused me so much pain). They initially settled in Kraainem, a commune on the outskirts of Brussels, where Damso grew up before moving when Damso was 22 to the largely Congolese neighborhood of Matonge in Ixelles. William's mother is Rose Marthe.
After completing secondary school, Damso's parents urged him to pursue a degree in marketing and psychology, but his passion for music led him to spend more time in recording studios, causing his academic performance to suffer. This resulted in conflicts with his parents, especially his father, who had been a medical doctor in Kinshasa, ultimately leading to Damso being kicked out of his home. Struggling to make ends meet, Damso resorted to living in squats and engaging in illegal activities for financial survival, driven by his refusal to tolerate racism and mistreatment in traditional workplaces.

Career

Damso started his rap career in 2006 by performing at local and underground events. At the start of his rap career, he formed rap collective OPG with childhood friend Dolfa. They later recruited Ducke, Lio Brown, and Rex. He released his first solo project Salle d'attente online as a free download in 2014. In collaboration with his band OPG, and significantly inspired by his older brother Mehdi Rais, he released his mixtape MMMXIII on 24 September 2014. Damso made his name in 2015 thanks to his song "Poseidon", which appears on Booba's OKLM mixtape. Following this, he joined Booba's 92i collective and signed with Universal Music. He made an appearance on Booba's album Nero Nemesis on the track "Pinocchio", in collaboration with Booba and rapper Gato Da Bato. Damso's verse was noted by the public and the media, increasing his popularity and widening his audience.
In France, all of Damso's albums have attained at minimum platinum certification.
On 8 July 2016 his first studio album, entitled Batterie Faible×Batterie Faible8 July 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Périscope2:292Débrouillard4:123Exutoire3:244Quotidien de baisé3:115Sombre2:586QuedelaVie3:317Amnésie4:278Graine de sablier3:319Beautiful3:4210BruxellesVie3:3111Autotune4:5412Monde3:51Disc 201Jean Reno4:0002Iscariote4:29, was released on Booba's label: 92i Records. The project, fully mixed and recorded by Krisy, has been certified platinum in France selling more than 300,000 units.
His second album Ipséité×Ipséité28 April 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Nwaar Is The New Black2:042#QuedusaalVie4:053Mosaïque solitaire5:064Dieu ne ment jamais3:195Signaler3:226Kietu3:527Gova3:178Macarena3:279Peur d'être père3:2510Kin la belle3:2111Lové3:3012Noob Saibot3:2213J Respect R3:3714Une âme pour deux4:00 was released on 28 April 2017 and was certified triple platinum in less than six months. The album is now certified diamond with over 900,000 cumulative album sales in France.
In 2018, Damso's third album Lithopedion was certified platinum within a week of its release and is now certified Diamond with over 500,000 units sold. He won the best musician awards.
In 2020, he released album QALF, which was later certified Diamond with over 500,000 units sold.

Musical style and influences

Damso's music is influenced by his childhood in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as his adolescence in Ixelles, Belgium. He said in an interview that he was inspired by Bone Thugs N Harmony and Mylène Farmer.

Themes

Damso explores a number of themes related to romance, success, his country of origin (the DRC), racism, and gender.

Personal life

In 2017, Damso had his son Lior. In 2020, he dedicated the song "Deux toiles de mer" to him, which was included on his album QALF. Damso is separated from his son's mother, as explained in the song. He initially wrote an open letter to his son in an Instagram post.

Controversy

In 2018, the Belgian Football Association planned to commission Damso to create an anthem for the national soccer team's participation in the FIFA World Cup, but faced public backlash and criticism from women's rights groups due to misogynistic and sexist content in his songs. Following this controversy, the association terminated their collaboration with Damso, issuing an apology to those who felt offended or discriminated against by their choice of artist.

Concerts

Damso organised his first tour, the Ipséité Tour after the release of his album Ipséité×Ipséité28 April 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Nwaar Is The New Black2:042#QuedusaalVie4:053Mosaïque solitaire5:064Dieu ne ment jamais3:195Signaler3:226Kietu3:527Gova3:178Macarena3:279Peur d'être père3:2510Kin la belle3:2111Lové3:3012Noob Saibot3:2213J Respect R3:3714Une âme pour deux4:00 in 2017 in which he went toured in France and Belgium. After a huge success, he continued with the Lithopédion Tour in 2018 and 2019 across the Francophone world.

As lead artist

Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
†In partnership with Sidaction, to which all profits have been donated.

As featured artist

• Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.