Born March 4, 1974 in Douala, Cameroon, Francois
Victor Njoh a.k.a. Njohreur (Mba-Nu Tiger) began in music when he
joined the Music Club at Bonabéri High School, where in 1984 he was awarded the
prize for "Best School Singer" by Joe Mboulé, the great Cameroon star
of the moment. Two years later, he is
director of the high school orchestra, a function that will occupy during 3
years. Convinced of his talent, Njohreur decided to
make music his job. Thus begins the artistic adventure of the young Francis
Victor Njoh. He starts performing in
the cabarets from Douala by covering the repertoires of the most famous artists of the time,
such as Eboa Lotin, Douleur, Guy Lobé and
Hoigen Ekwalla, to mention a few.
In 1994, Petit Pays called on him to join his group, Les Sans Visas as chorist and animateur. Together with Jojo Moussio and Samy Diko
he forms a trio called The Dignitaries.
With Petit Pays they record Korta
(Les dignitaries) a cd of which thousands were sold in French
West Africa. This success led to many concerts across Africa and a national
tour in Cameroon. The same year, the band
won the Best African Group award at the Consty Eka Awards in Libreville, Gabon.
In 1996 Njohreur was invited by
Kotto Bass to participate in the Cameroon
Stars 2000 album which was released by Aladji Toure. On this album several
promising Makossa vocalists covered classics from artists such as J.R.Nelson,
Moni Bile, Pierre Didy Tchakounte and Pierre de Moussy. In this year Njohreur also
left Les Dignitaries to form a duo with his fellow singer Sergeo Polo. The new duo creates a new dance craze with their Makossa-Zingue style, which combines
Makossa with the popular Congolese Ndombolo.
Due to this success their album Le mari d'autrie is chosen as the best Makossa
record of 1997 and the duo itself as the revelation of 1997. The cooperation with Sergeo Polo didn't last long, but in
1998 Njohreur continued his success with the acclaimed first solo album Ka-Byla: Zingue came no go.
After Ka Byla he releases new albums - always at
intervals of a few years - that are doing well: Mbukutu (2001), Harmattan (2003), Mulemba (2007), Statut pas 2
(2009) and Ça donne (2013).
In 2014 Njohreur
launches The 12th Player, a musical
project to gain maximum support for The Indomitable Lions, who have qualified
successful for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. The campaign comprises of a
jersey (green and yellow) sold at CFA 5000 and an audio maxi single with three
different versions. Several musicians collaborated in the compositions under
the patronage of Petit Pays. “The 12th player” refers to Cameroonians of all
works of life. We should come out in our numbers to support the Lions,
irrespective of our origins. Let us wipe out the spirit of division among
supporters, because some players are encouraged while others are usually
neglected,” Njohreur explained. After this project Njohreur continued to work
on his new album and in december 2014 he launched the titletrack of his forthcoming
album Les complexés.
DISCOGRAPHY
