It’s an artist, a song and a choreography that everyone knows in Libreville and well beyond: Satana d’Eboloko, which gives rise to thousands of challenges on social networks, and at the same time promotes a Gabonese style of dance, the Tcham. Meeting with the artist.
1 min
With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
The song Satana, which fascinates, is the work of the Gabonese artist-musician Eboloko. On the TikTok network, its production team counted up to 200,000 challenges at the beginning of June. Challenges that total more than 20 million views. They are African, European, American and even Asian and dance to the rhythm of Satana.
Eboloko’s nightclub outings in Libreville plunge his fans into intoxication. “ This is the song that is hitting Libreville at the moment. Satana! », laughs one of them. “ It makes you dance », laughs another, who takes up the refrain with delight.
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Aged 23, Eboloko, whose real name is Yvon Meye M’Essone, is currently on cloud nine.
The young prodigy, who dreamed of becoming a footballer, was born in Nkembo, a poor district of Libreville. “ I come from the ghettosmiles the person concerned. I am seen as an example because I came out of where I was to get to this level “.
Ambitious, Eboloko works hard. The studio has almost become his second home. A student at Omar Bongo University in Libreville, Eboloko took a sabbatical year to launch his young career. He is preparing an international tour to meet his fans and shake his hips with them to the rhythm of Satana.
Eboloko was discovered by the Wave & Co Label, a group that produces budding young artists in the hope of propelling them to the firmament. Elgor Beatz talks about Eboloko but also about other young Gabonese musicians who are making waves and surfing on the “Tcham”, a Gabonese way of dancing a bit like the Rumba for the two Congos or the Makossa in Cameroon. I am extremely proud of Eboloko’s worksays the boss of Label Wave & Co, and the impact it generated with Satana on TikTok. This not only testifies to his talent, his strength of creativity “.
He pursues : ” Regarding Gabonese music and the craze around Tcham, which is becoming a whole national culture, Gabonese artists like Don’zer, L’Oiseau rare, Général Itachi – to name a few – have not only popularized this style locally but also on a global scale, making Tcham a true musical style specific to Gabon. Because these young people embody a new era through their musical style. And the artist Eboloko is part of this new generation, which is revolutionizing Gabonese music. This is reassuring for us and encourages us to provide the necessary support to structure and enable artists and their works to carry the torch of Gabonese music on the continent and around the world. »