Biography
Cameroonian singer/songwriter Reniss first captured widespread attention in 2016 through the energetic single “La Sauce,” which merged lively Afro-pop with the bikutsi rhythms native to her homeland. Longtime collaborator Jovi helped shape her sound, which regularly merges Cameroonian traditions such as makossa, bend-skin, and njang with elements of R&B and hip-hop, a blend documented across the album Tendon and the more expansive 2020 release Nzo.
Raised in Douala’s Mabanda neighborhood, Kien Rennise Nde began performing as a teenager in church choirs and continued singing at various religious events for years afterward. Her creative association with Cameroonian rapper and producer Jovi, also called Le Monstre, started in 2011 on the track “Fire” and extended through “Holy Wata” and the 2013 EP Afrikan LuV; she also appeared on Jovi’s 2012 album H.I.V. Early recordings leaned toward gospel and electronic pop, yet by the time of the 2015 Milkish EP and especially the full-length Tendon in 2016, Reniss drew from a broader range of regional African influences. Issued shortly before and included on the Jovi-produced Tendon, “La Sauce” propelled her profile across Africa and parts of Europe, later serving as an unofficial anthem for Cameroon’s national football team the Indomitable Lions during their victorious 2017 AFCON campaign.
Building on that momentum, Reniss released an EP in March 2017 to mark International Women’s Day, paying tribute to African vocalists who had inspired her; Reniss Chante Les Classiques presented covers of material by Miriam Makeba, Cesária Évora, and additional artists. Two further EPs, Express Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, appeared in 2018. Reuniting with Jovi for her second album, Nzo arrived in 2020 and embraced traditional sounds from across the continent while evoking the Afro-pop aesthetic of the 1960s and ’70s.
Raised in Douala’s Mabanda neighborhood, Kien Rennise Nde began performing as a teenager in church choirs and continued singing at various religious events for years afterward. Her creative association with Cameroonian rapper and producer Jovi, also called Le Monstre, started in 2011 on the track “Fire” and extended through “Holy Wata” and the 2013 EP Afrikan LuV; she also appeared on Jovi’s 2012 album H.I.V. Early recordings leaned toward gospel and electronic pop, yet by the time of the 2015 Milkish EP and especially the full-length Tendon in 2016, Reniss drew from a broader range of regional African influences. Issued shortly before and included on the Jovi-produced Tendon, “La Sauce” propelled her profile across Africa and parts of Europe, later serving as an unofficial anthem for Cameroon’s national football team the Indomitable Lions during their victorious 2017 AFCON campaign.
Building on that momentum, Reniss released an EP in March 2017 to mark International Women’s Day, paying tribute to African vocalists who had inspired her; Reniss Chante Les Classiques presented covers of material by Miriam Makeba, Cesária Évora, and additional artists. Two further EPs, Express Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, appeared in 2018. Reuniting with Jovi for her second album, Nzo arrived in 2020 and embraced traditional sounds from across the continent while evoking the Afro-pop aesthetic of the 1960s and ’70s.
Albums
Singles
