Lambo Pierre Roger Sandjo aka LAPIRO (first two letters of
each of his names) de Mbanga was born on April 7 in Mbanga, Littoral Region
Cameroon. Lapiro decided to leave his carpentry career for his passion in music
after his advance level certificate. His music career took him to Nigeria,
Benin and Gabon and upon his return to Cameroon in 1985 he composed songs that
spoke about the socio-economic realities of his country and the continent.
After a first hit with Pas argent no love
his real break through came with No
make erreur on which he shared vocals with reggae star Jimmy Cliff. He was
nicknamed Ndinga Man (the guitar man) for his savoir faire in the art. Through
his songs he became the voice of the downtrodden in Cameroonian society.
Lapiro de Mbanga somewhat fell out with the Cameroon people
in the early 90s when he was accused by public opinion for siding with the
regime. He had called for Cameroonians to clamour for change in a peaceful
manner and not resort to violence that would have plunged the country into a
cicil war. Chastised, Lapiro went silent for a while and emerged again in 2008 to denounce a proposed constitutional amendment that would give life preseidency for incumbent President Biya. This was in the song Constituition constupée (Constipated constitution).
He was released from prison in 2011 after which he relased his last album Demissionnez (Resign) in which he called on President Biya to resign following his failure to govern Cameroon.
Facing all forms of intimidations and threats , Lapiro, his wife and his three children sought refuge in the USA in 2012, where he finally died in 2014.
See also: Wikipedia - Lapiro de Mbanga
DISCOGRAPHY
Lapiro, welcome back dude. I love the grey wool on your chin and cheeks. When you can, do an international tour with talks and all.
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