King Mensah known as "The Golden Voice of Togo", is one of the most popular musical acts from Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

, West Africa. Though based in Lomé

Lomé

Lomé, with an estimated population of 737,751, is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels...

, he regularly records and promotes his albums in Paris, and has embarked on several world tours since 2005. Singing in Ewe

Ewe language

Ewe is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately six million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe, spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and parts of Benin. Other Gbe languages include Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and Aja...

 and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, King Mensah's sound fuses elements of traditional Ewe music

Ewe music

Ewe music is the music of the Ewe people of West Africa. Instrumentation is primarily percussive and rhythmically the music features great metrical complexity. Its highest form is in dance music including a drum orchestra, but there are also work, play, and other songs. Despite his title Ewe music...

 (Agbadza and Akpessé), and Kabye

Kabye

Kabye is the name for both the Kabye or Kabiyé language and peoples of the northern plains of Togo, West Africa. The Kabye are primarily known for farming and cultivation of the stony Kara Valley area of Togo...

 dance-drum music, with funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 and West African Afropop

Afropop

Afropop or Afro-pop may refer to:*African popular music*Afropop Worldwide, a weekly radio program from Public Radio International...

. King Mensah's lyrical themes are steeped in religion and hopeful encouragement for the orphaned, oppressed and downtrodden.

History

King Mensah was born Ayaovi Papavi Mensah to a father from Togo and a mother from Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

. Mensah began performing with a 'ballet' of traditional Togolese folkloric music at age 9. In his formative years, he was a member of the band 'Les Dauphins de la Capitale'. He acted with Ki-Yi M’Bock Theatre in Abidjan

Abidjan

Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...

, Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

, in the early 1990s, then traveled to Europe, Japan, French Guiana

French Guiana

French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

, France and Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 as an actor and singer.

In 2005, Mensah founded a philanthropic organization called "Foundation King Mensah" in Togo dedicated to the protection and education of orphans, including an orphanage in Agbodrafo, 25 km east of Lomé.

Awards

• Togo Best artist ACCP with UNESCO of Paris in 1997
• Best Traditional African Artist
• Kora Award 2000 in South Africa
• Best Artist - Togo Music Awards in 2000
• Best Album ("Mensah, Mensah")- Togo Music Awards in 2000
• Price of excellence - Togo Music Awards in 2000
• Best Traditional African Artist - Kora 2004 in South Africa
• FIATI Trophy in Lomé in 2005
• Best African Social Artist in 2005
• Gold TAMANI in 2005 in Mali
• Trophy of Independence in 2006 - Leader of the Togolese Music
• "Officer of the First Order" by the Togolese Head of State 2008

Albums

• Madjo (1996) ["I am Going"]
• Edidodo (1998) ["Courage"]
• Mensah Mensah (2000)
• Elom (2002) ["He Loves Me"]
• Yetonam (2008) ["He Answered My Call"]

See also

• Togo
  Togo
  Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
  
  
• Music of Togo
  Music of Togo
  Togo has produced a number of internationally known popular entertainers including King Mensah, Bella Bellow, and Jimi Hope. The country has a diverse folk tradition with more than forty ethnic groups, each with their own musical styles.- Folk music :...
  
  
• Afrofunk