Lous and the Yakuza

Lous and the Yazuka is a collective name for the multi-talented Marrie-Pierra Kakoma, a Congolese-Rwandan-Belgian rapper, singer, songwriter, artist, and model. She enjoyed chart success in Europe with her debut single, ‘Dilemme’, in 2019 and has since had hits with tracks such as ‘Je ne sais pas’, ‘Handle Me’, and ‘Future Nostalgia’. To date, she has released two albums: Gore (2020) and Iota (2022). The former was produced by Grammy-winning Spanish maestro, El Guincho. Her music blends trap, pop, R&B, and hip-hop with a mesmerising elegance. It’s a sound as distinctive as the painted symbol on her forehead (which signifies acceptance).

Kakoma’s roots lie in the traumatic displacement she and her family suffered in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the Second Congo War of 1998-2003. Amidst this dislocated horror, Kakoma decided to pursue music, rather than her parents’ choice of medicine. A natural fan of non-conformism, she draws on influences as diverse as Mozart, J. Cole, Kate Bush, and Picasso to create the unpinnable sound heard in shifting forms throughout her music. Her highly conceptual videos and personal style blend perfectly with her musical sensibilities.

Kakoma — and Lous and the Yazuka — are gaining a strong following outside of French-speaking countries, as evidenced by 2021’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert. But regardless, she has already become an underground hit among those music lovers who want something new and something a little deeper.