From Brussels Streets to a Columbia Records Debut

Marie-Pierra Kakoma, who performs as Lous and the Yakuza, was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her childhood was spent between countries. During the war of 1998 her mother was imprisoned for two months, and the family then moved to a rough neighbourhood in Brussels. They later lived in Rwanda for six years, in the aftermath of the genocide, before coming back to Brussels.

Her parents raised her on classical music, including Chopin and Mozart. According to The Guardian, they cut her off when she chose music over the career they had in mind for her. The newspaper then says that she went through a period of homelessness during which she was assaulted. It gives no dates, does not say exactly where it happened, and does not explain how she came out of it.

She kept making music. When it came to signing a contract, she signed with Columbia Records and was careful about the terms. She turned down several collaborators who were proposed to her until she was matched with the Spanish producer El Guincho, who also produced Rosalía's album El Mal Querer.

Her debut album, Gore, was released on Columbia in 2020. She sings and raps in French about the realities of her own life and about post-colonial conditions.

The Guardian quotes her as saying that she wants people to understand the reality of a young Black woman living in Europe. Her path ran from a childhood marked by war and moves, through a break with her family and a period without a home, to an international record deal.