Biography

James BKS belongs to a new breed of wolf. Not the kind that has roamed Europe's alpine pastures for millennia, carrying with it ancient myths. Rather, one that has settled in Africa, called the "golden wolf", and embodies another era, a new generation of travelers. Between France, the United States and the continent of his roots, the French producer built his first album, Wolves of Africa, the result of a long personal, artistic and family quest. Because finding one's musical path can take a lifetime.

 His began in France in 1982, but changed radically when his family left to live the American dream in Springfield, Virginia. There, in a frenzied musical breeding ground, he discovered hip-hop production and a talent he'd never suspected. So, faced with the evidence, he worked and composed tirelessly, and soon managed to produce for heavyweights such as Snoop Dogg, Akon, Puff Daddy and Ja Rule. In the twilight of the 2000s, he put his finger on that famous American dream, and moved to Atlanta, where the future of the world's sound is taking shape.

 But in the whirlwind of a fantasized music industry, James BKS no longer recognized himself artistically. Faced with his desire to be a musician, his Cameroonian mother revealed to him the identity of his biological father: Manu Dibango. He then left to rebuild his life in France, where, via his new structure Grown Kid, he collaborated with several artists of the new generation, whether in French rap with Booba or Meryl, or with the guarantors of the future of African music such as Mr Eazi, Dip Doundou or Yemi Alade.

 In 2017, James BKS composed the track Kwele, based on a sample of the track Senga Abele, recorded by his father in 1990. Kwele is in fact the first stone in the sonic edifice that will become Wolves of Africa.It was thanks to this track that he met the English actor and musician Idris Elba. On New Breed, he reunited legendary producer and rapper Q-Tip with Idris Elba and Little Simz. The same goes for Jungle Go Dumb, a collaboration with Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Pies.A story of transmission, filiation, heritage... Because this whole album is driven by profound values, by the desire to leave a positive mark on future generations.

 But transmission is also synonymous with re-appropriation and evolution. Wolves of Africa becomes a double album in which James BKS combines the rediscovered musical tradition with the most electronic rhythms flooding the African continent. He brings together Congolese guitars, deafening bass from Nigeria, playful female backing vocals from Cameroon, Congolese brass... Every element, every sound is at the service of a form of modernity. As on the tracks Kwele on Part.1 and Best We Can on Part.2, symbols of this encounter between machines and everything that makes African music so rich.

 The second part of the album, more intimate, more personal, remains in the DNA of the first, but James increasingly puts himself forward as a performer.

Celebrate Blessings' celebrates the positive energy and benevolence that surrounds him despite life's trials, while 'Identity' asks the question of identity for a person who has built his own identity over the years between France, the USA and Cameroon.

 A James BKS album remains a collective work, and the guest list is prestigious. It features rock legend Carlos Santana alongside African stars Angélique Kidjo, Yemi Alade, Nomcebo and talented Cameroonians Salatiel and Stanley Enow. On the track 'King', he invites Royce Da 5'9, "one of the best American rappers around".

On the French side, we find the elegant Ibrahim Maalouf on the instrumental Killa Jambo and the surprising Jok'Air on Kibaba. The list goes on, but we'll let you discover the album in due course.

 What's certain is that James BKS is back, stronger than ever!

His music symbolizes a heritage, an artistic and personal journey now synonymous with pride. As if to show that if a wolf disappears, its spirit endures and begets a new breed, a new music: that of James BKS.