Oule hitmaker Momo�s legacy lives on
Staff Writer | Friday October 9, 2015 12:11
While the Island Archipelago of Comoros-born artist had been in music for a long time, Oule is the song, which elevated his status as a musician. The song was a hit with people of different ages and backgrounds, and could hear people humming or singing it as they went about their business.
The video of the song, which was featured regularly on Botswana Television (Btv), seemed to appeal to a lot of people. Born in 1962, the musician, who was a resident entertainer for a number of hotels at different times, died on Monday due to illness. Those who have been on outings at Gaborone Sun, would vividly remember the Oule hitmaker, as he was resident entertainer for the hotel for a long time, and patrons of the hotel seemed to enjoy his performances.
Oule, however was originally done by a Caribbean band called Kassav. People who had the opportunity of meeting the Comoros-born artists would attest to his humble and friendly demeanor. Momo had a welcoming character, and he would interact with his fans like a friend.
At the age of 17, Momo’s passion for music saw him leading a group known as ‘Les Atomes’ in his hometown Ntjsoudjini. After graduating from high school, Momo spent a few years in France studying French, English, and Arabic at the University of Nantes, where he continued to interact with various bands and musicians of different origins, who undeniably contributed to his musical expansion and versatility. Momo trained as a music studio programmer.
In 1991, he started singing at the Galawa Beach Hotel, a Sun International resort in the Comoros as resident entertainer. Later that year, he was transferred to Mmabatho Sun Hotel in South Africa, where he continued entertaining guests and patrons of the hotel by joining the then hotel resident band ‘Shine.’ In 1992, Momo took base as One-man band at the Molopo Sun Hotel still entertaining with his delightful wide range repertoire of Western Pop, Latin music, African rhythms, Zouk, Reggae and other genres every night.
Momo also confessed that while at Molopo Sun he was on the list of musicians most sought after in the Sun International circuit due to his versatility in executing songs in various languages, English, French, Swahili, and Arabic. Momo later moved became resident entertainer at Gaborone Sun, where he performed for many years. Momo won a double award for his debut album In African Renaissance at the 2001 Botswana Music Union Awards.