What are you listening to? 
I’m listening to the new Beyoncé album and still bumping the last Kendrick one.

Your all-time favourite albums? 
Thriller and Dangerous by Michael Jackson; My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West; Jesus Is Born by Sunday Service Choir; Wakafrika by Manu Dibango; Voodoo by D’Angelo; To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar; 4:44 by Jay-Z and Starmania by Michel Berger. All of these shaped my musical ear and sonically changed the game.

Musician you most admire?
I have a few… Quincy Jones, Michel Berger, Manu Dibango, Fela Kuti, Kanye West, John Mayer, Stromae, Kendrick Lamar… All of them were able to shift the sound of the music, they were ahead of their time and never settled. 

Favourite new artist? 
Anna Kova and Gracy Hopkins.

Memorable musical encounter? 
I was able to bring together, in the same room, my late biological father Manu Dibango and Quincy Jones, after decades of them not talking to one another. That was probably one of the best days of my life.

What’s your hidden talent? 
I’m a pretty decent photographer!

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? 
I was able to travel a lot at an early age, and still have a passion for planes. So, I’d probably be a flight attendant, as I wasn’t good enough at math at school to become a pilot! 

Read the review of James BKS’s Wolves of Africa (Part 1/2)

This interview originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today