Mohombi

Mohombi, a Swedish-Congolese R&B performer skilled as a singer, songwriter, and dancer, has also issued material under his birth name Mohombi Moupondo. He formed half of the Swedish hip-hop duo Avalon alongside his brother DJ Djo Moupondo, and has issued hit singles continuously since 2011.

Born in Congo as one of 14 children to a Congolese father and Swiss mother, he relocated with his family to Sweden at age 13 amid the turmoil of the Congolese war. Immersed in music from childhood, he studied at Rytmus Music High School in Stockholm and later obtained a Bachelor's degree from Stockholm’s Music Conservatory. After finishing school, he joined forces with his brother, a local club DJ, to launch Avalon, whose material fused dancehall, hip-hop, and African rhythms. From 2004 to 2008 the pair sold more than 500,000 records and collected several industry awards before parting ways in 2009.

His first solo outing, the spring 2010 Swedish release “Do It” with rapper Lazee, debuted at number nine on the Swedish Singles Chart. Shortly afterward he settled in Los Angeles and connected with producer RedOne (Nadir Kayat) of Swedish-Moroccan descent. His debut solo single “Bumpy Ride,” issued in late summer as the inaugural release on RedOne’s 2101 Records imprint through Universal, reached the Top 100 in France, Canada, and Japan and achieved widespread club success. Two months later “Miss Me,” featuring Nelly, appeared in the U.K., followed in November by “Dirty Situation” with Akon. He promptly recorded his debut album MoveMeant, which surfaced across Europe in February 2011 on Cherrytree via Island and included “Coconut Tree” with Nicole Scherzinger; more than half its tracks later emerged as singles and received heavy club play.

After touring and appearing on several television programs, Mohombi received a nomination for Best Swedish Act at the 2011 European Music Awards. He focused the next two years primarily on writing and production for other artists. In 2014 he returned with the digital single “Maraca” and recorded “Suave (Kiss Me)” with Nayer & Pitbull. That year also brought the album Universe, which contained “Maraca” plus the single “Movin’” (feat. Caskey, Birdman, & KMC), “Lose It” (feat. Big Ali), and “Grow Old with You” (feat. Geneva). The title track generated its own EP, Universe Remixes, offering nine versions by producers including Jerome Price, Mike Cruz, Casey Alva, Darome, and Soul Cartel. Over the following two years he released or appeared on more than a dozen singles, among them his own “Infinity” and “Let Me Love You” (credited to DJ Rebel & Mohombi and featuring Shaggy), Les Jumbo’s “Sexy,” and Alexandra Joner’s “Bottoms Up.” In spring 2017 he issued the pop reggae track “I Feel Good” as a pre-release single for his third album, and it rose into the Top 20 on streaming charts.