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Baloji (born 12 September 1978) is a Belgian rapper, MC and hip hop artist of Congolese origin. Known as MC Balo in the hip hop group Starflam, he continued as solo artist starting 2004.

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (February 2016)

Baloji
Background information
Born	(1978-09-12) 12 September 1978 (age 44) Lubumbashi, Congo-Léopoldville (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, singer, songwriter
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Discipline, Warner Music / EMI (with Starflam)
Website	www.baloji.com

Career

Beginnings with Starflam

Born out of wedlock to a Belgian father and a Congolese mother, he moved to Belgium with his father to live in Ostende losing all contact with his mother. Feeling estranged in his new environment and after disputes with his father and petty crimes and problems with police, he quit home and lived in a youth delinquent house working on his passion of rap and dance.[1] Alongside his friends, he started the hip hop band Starflam at age 15. The band's self-titled debut album in 1998 was Starflam and the follow-up album Survivant released on Capitol / EMI in 2001 went platinum and was rereleased with a Survivant - Édition Spéciale in EMI the following year. In 2003, the band had yet another studio album Donne moi de l'amour. But after differences with the other members of the band, Baloji quit music in 2004.

Solo

After Baloji discovered a letter from his mother that he hadn't seen since 1981, and after winning a poetry competition in Paris, France, he decided to return to music in 2006 as a solo artist. His debut solo album in 2008 entitled Hotel Impala was an autobiographical album about his life, including a hearty response to his mother's letter. The album was certified gold, with the album winning two "Octaves de la musique" awards as well as Rapsat-Lelièvre Award and Brassens Awards for Lyricists.[2] He followed it up with albums Kinshasa Succursale in 2011 and 64 Bits and Malachite in 2015.

Discography

Albums

As part of Starflam

• 1998: Starflam [Discipline Records / Rough Trade]
• 2000: Live & Direct [Warner Music Benelux]
• 2001: Survivant [Capitol/EMI]
• 2002: Survivant - Édition Spéciale (EMI)
• 2003: Donne moi de l'amour [Hostile/EMI]
• 2004: Donne moi de l'amour - Édition Deluxe (EMI)

Solo

• 2008: Hotel Impala
• 2011: Kinshasa Succursale
• 2015: 64 Bits and Malachite
• 2018: 137 Avenue Kaniama

Maxis and singles

As part of Starflam

• 1997: "Corde raide" [12", Discipline Records]
• 1998: Ce plat pays II [12" & CD, Discipline Records]
• 2000: Bled runner [12" & CD, Warner Music Benelux]
• 2001: "De cause à effet" / "Ca tape dur" [12", Capitol / EMI]
• 2001: La Sonora [12 & CD, Capitol / EMI]
• 2001: Amnésie Internationale [12" & CD, Capitol / EMI]
• 2002: Sous pression [12" & CD, Capitol / EMI]
• 2003: "Marseille – Liège" / "Mr Orange" [12", Hostile / EMI]
• 2003: "Ils ne savent pas" [12", Hostile / EMI]

Featured in

• 2015: "La vie est belle / Life is Beautiful" (Petite Noir feat. Baloji)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Bullhead	Patrick
2017	How Camels Become Lions	Baloji
2019	Zombies		Director
2019	Binti	Jovial	Nominated–Magritte Award for Most Promising Actor

References

External links

• Official website
• Baloji at IMDb

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