Aya Nakamura

French Afrobeat and R&B singer Aya Nakamura first cultivated an audience by uploading material to her YouTube channel, where early cuts such as “Karma” and “J'ai mal” circulated before “Brisé” accumulated millions of streams. That online momentum translated into a recording contract with Warner Music France and the 2017 release of her debut album, Journal intime, which entered the French pop charts at number six and showcased guest appearances by MHD, KeBlack, and Gradur.

Born Aya Danioko in Bamako, Mali, to a griot lineage of West African historians and storytellers, she relocated with her family to the northern suburbs of Paris during childhood. For her stage name she adopted Nakamura, borrowed from the character Hiro Nakamura on the U.S. series Heroes.

Her profile rose sharply in 2018 when the lead single “Djadja” from her self-titled second album topped the French singles chart, later becoming the first number-one record by a French female artist to achieve diamond certification and subsequently registering across much of Europe; the album itself peaked at number three. Two years afterward she issued her third LP, Aya, which carried the international single “Jolie Nana” and featured U.K. rappers Stormzy and Ms Banks.

Between 2021 and 2022 she continued releasing singles, most notably the French chart-topper “Dégaine” with Belgian rapper Damso, along with the Top 20 entries “SMS” and “Baby.” These tracks paved the way for her fourth album, DNK, which debuted at number one on the French pop chart in January 2023.