Empereur Mutu started behind the decks in Yopougon, Abidjan’s most populous and vibrant district, spinning coupé décalé in its clubs and maquis, the open-air bars where most of the city goes to dance. In early-2020s he picked up the mic and threw in with biama, a faster offshoot that takes the same percussive loops and pushes them past 150 BPM. Dance battles on vacant lots and schoolyards keep the style fed, with new challenges hitting TikTok every week.

He recorded his first biama single, “Matubule,” in 2022, and followed with “Maman” and “Atoutouta.” “Doribi Danse,” a concept he built around his own choreography and dubbed the “head dance,” pushed his name further across the biama circuit. A remix of Kwenza‘s “Pain Condiment” alongside Ogane Dashi on the Serrer les Lêkês EP took him onto Blanc Manioc, a label connecting West African and European dance bass music.

“Zôrôpô Tapé,” his latest single on Royal Rec’ord, is produced by Ben à la Prod, a pianist-turned-beatmaker with hundreds of biama singles to his name, working from Yopougon’s Toit Rouge quarter.

Listen to “Zôrôpô Tapé” HERE