# Yamê
**Yamê** (born 1993) is the stage name of Emmanuel Sow, a French-Cameroonian singer and rapper whose music blends R&B, hip hop, jazz, trap, and African influences, and who is known for a high, powerful head voice and the 2023 hit "Bécane"[1](https://goodsisters.fr/talents/yame) • [2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/). The name Yamê means "the verb" in Mbo, a Bantu language of northwestern Cameroon[3](https://www.melo-app.com/notice/yame) • [4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Emmanuel Sow, born 1993 in Cergy-Pontoise, Île-de-France[5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie) |
| Stage name | Yamê, "the verb" in the Mbo language of Cameroon[3](https://www.melo-app.com/notice/yame) |
| Breakthrough | "Bécane", performed at a COLORS show in 2023; the video had passed 97 million views by late 2025[4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/) |
| Award | Révélation masculine (Male Revelation) of the year at the Victoires de la Musique, February 2024[6](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg) |
| Albums | Mixtape *Bantu Mixtape Vol.1* (2020), album *Agent 237* (2021), EP *Elowi* (2023), album *ÉBĒM* (13 June 2025, 14 tracks)[6](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg) • [2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/) |
| Reach | About 170 million streams and 90 million views on his COLORS show by 2024; opening slots for Stromae[1](https://goodsisters.fr/talents/yame) |
| Major venues | Philharmonie de Paris, 22 November 2025; Zénith Paris, 9 April 2026[7](https://www.offi.fr/artiste/yame-176278.html) |
## Early life and background
Yamê was born in 1993 in [Cergy-Pontoise](https://www.edgepedia.org/cergy-pontoise), in the Paris region[5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie). His father is the Cameroonian musician M'Backé Ngoup'Emanty, known in Cameroon and Senegal, whose music drew on pulaar rhythms, wolof mbalax, Cameroonian makossa, and Congolese soukouss; his mother worked in computing, described by one profile as a computer scientist at Microsoft and by another as a computer teacher[1](https://goodsisters.fr/talents/yame) • [2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/) • [5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie). He grew up between France and Cameroon, and his childhood listening included [Papa Wemba](https://www.edgepedia.org/papa-wemba), France Gall, and Ben Decca[5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie).
He taught himself piano and also plays guitar, spending hours covering tracks by the British band Muse[2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/). After school he took a data-management job in a tech company[5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie). His musical schooling came from Paris jam sessions, improvised sessions rooted in jazz culture: he played at the Carré in the Saint-Michel area and joined the Rouge Rouge Jam collective, which mixed dance, theater, and music, and he has said the jams were how he learned piano, by watching stronger players[4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/). During the Covid-19 lockdown he began composing his own material, negotiated a contractual termination from his employer, and committed to music[4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/). The SACEM profile of his Prix Francis Lemarque describes the same shift, a gradual abandonment of a data career for music[8](https://societe.sacem.fr/actuimg/fr/live/v4/Createurs-Editeurs/Actualites/2024/2024_semestre2/grands_prix_2024_Laureat_yame.pdf).
## Career beginnings
Yamê launched his solo career in March 2020 and released his first mixtape, *Bantu Mixtape Vol.1*, in September 2020[6](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg) • [9](https://www.reseau-map.fr/app/uploads/2022/03/GIVE-ME-FIVE-2022-Dossier-de-presse.pdf). His audience first grew through TikTok, where he posted videos of his texts and compositions under the project "Les Taff", and his piano-and-voice clips went viral[8](https://societe.sacem.fr/actuimg/fr/live/v4/Createurs-Editeurs/Actualites/2024/2024_semestre2/grands_prix_2024_Laureat_yame.pdf) • [10](https://views.fr/blogs/interviews/yame-les-jams-c-est-l-open-mic-des-musiciens). His first album, *Agent 237*, appeared in June 2021[6](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg). In 2022 he released the single "Kodjo", and in 2023 came "Call of Valhalla" and "Bécane"[5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie).
## Breakthrough with "Bécane" and Elowi
In October 2023 Yamê released the EP *Elowi*, whose title references a song by his father and which he has described as a tribute to the Bantu and Mbo languages and to Cameroonian culture; its nine tracks include "Quête", "Business", "Lowkey", "Ayo Mba", and "Déter"[5](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie) • [3](https://www.melo-app.com/notice/yame). The EP also contained "Bécane", described by *Le Monde* as a hymn to freedom, and "Bahwai", a casual ego trip[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/06/13/eb-m-nous-plonge-dans-l-univers-geek-de-yame_6612765_3246.html).
**The COLORS performance.** A COLORS show performance of "Bécane", recorded at the Berlin-based COLORS studios, made his name internationally[3](https://www.melo-app.com/notice/yame). The video had accumulated more than 97 million views by late 2025, and the track carried him to first place on Spotify's global viral chart[4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/). The American producer [Timbaland](https://www.edgepedia.org/timbaland), known for his work with [Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake), Jay-Z, and Rihanna, remixed "Bécane" and publicly praised his talent, and [Pharrell Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/pharrell-williams) invited him to Fashion Week[12](https://french.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=66603) • [2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/).
In February 2024, a week after winning Révélation masculine of the year at the Victoires de la Musique, he played a sold-out show at l'Espace Django in [Strasbourg](https://www.edgepedia.org/strasbourg)[6](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg). Across 2024 he accumulated about 170 million streams, 90 million views on his COLORS show, an opening slot for Stromae, and roughly 40 festival dates[1](https://goodsisters.fr/talents/yame). SACEM also awarded him the Prix Francis Lemarque de la Révélation in 2024[8](https://societe.sacem.fr/actuimg/fr/live/v4/Createurs-Editeurs/Actualites/2024/2024_semestre2/grands_prix_2024_Laureat_yame.pdf).
## ÉBĒM and touring
Yamê released the album *ÉBĒM* on 13 June 2025, a 14-track record rooted in drill and trap that alternates R&B, rap, French chanson, jazz, blues, and African inspirations[2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/) • [13](https://bfm.limoges.fr/sites/bfm_de_limoges/files/media/downloads/nouveautes_cd_2025-11_aur.pdf). The title is another Mbo word, chosen on his father's advice: an *ébem* is a place where young people sat to listen to the elders, which Yamê reimagined as a partly virtual place in the album's narrative[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/06/13/eb-m-nous-plonge-dans-l-univers-geek-de-yame_6612765_3246.html). *Le Monde* called it his first album, while other sources count *Agent 237* (2021) as his first album; the two accounts differ on how his discography is labeled[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/06/13/eb-m-nous-plonge-dans-l-univers-geek-de-yame_6612765_3246.html) • [6](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg).
The release was accompanied by an unusually wide set of formats: a short film mixing anime, video game graphics, and computer-generated imagery, a one-shot music video for the lead single "Solo", an interactive website, and a temporary exhibition[4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/) • [11](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/06/13/eb-m-nous-plonge-dans-l-univers-geek-de-yame_6612765_3246.html). Yamê has described himself as a geek and a video game player since age seven, and visuals for the track "Moto" draw on the game *[Limbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/limbo-video-game)* by Playdead[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/06/13/eb-m-nous-plonge-dans-l-univers-geek-de-yame_6612765_3246.html).
**Touring.** The album was followed by a sold-out tour of France and Europe, including a concert at the Philharmonie de Paris on 22 November 2025 and a date at the Zénith Paris – La Villette on 9 April 2026[1](https://goodsisters.fr/talents/yame) • [7](https://www.offi.fr/artiste/yame-176278.html). In 2026 he released further singles, including "Ne reviens pas" on 7 May 2026, a track about leaving a painful relationship, and "On my mind" with an acoustic version, alongside a 2026 festival tour with slots at the Nuits de Fourvière, Main Square Festival, Paléo Festival, and Foreztival[14](https://just-music.fr/ne-reviens-nouveau-single-de-yame/) • [15](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/yam%C3%AA/1540808137).
## Musical style
Yamê's signature is a high, powerful head voice that reaches notes usually pitch-corrected or autotuned in the genre, used both as lead vocal and in his own backing choirs; one profile compares its vibration to that of Papa Wemba[2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/). His production uses samples, piano loops, and the kicks of trap and drill, over which he mixes French and Cameroonian slang[3](https://www.melo-app.com/notice/yame) • [4](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/). He performs with a live band of seven musicians, three backing singers, a drummer, a bassist, a DJ, and himself on vocals and keyboards, a setup he has noted is rare in French rap apart from groups like [The Roots](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roots)[2](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/). His lyrics draw on his family history and celebrate African grandeur through what one press kit calls often geek-flavored metaphors[9](https://www.reseau-map.fr/app/uploads/2022/03/GIVE-ME-FIVE-2022-Dossier-de-presse.pdf).
## References
1. [Yamê, Good Sisters talent profile](https://goodsisters.fr/talents/yame)
2. [Yamê : le nouveau prodige qui redéfinit le flow du rap français, Le Claireur Fnac (26 May 2025)](https://leclaireur.fnac.com/article/cp67083-yame-le-jeune-prodige-qui-redefinit-le-flow-du-rap-francais/)
3. [Yamê, Mélo artist notice](https://www.melo-app.com/notice/yame)
4. [Yamê : "J'ai été bercé par beaucoup de contes et d'histoires", Mixte Magazine (27 October 2025)](https://www.mixtemagazine.com/article/interview-yame-ebem-storytellers-fall-winter-2025/)
5. [Yamê, Biographie, NRJ](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/yame/biographie)
6. [Yamê, révélation masculine de l'année, enflamme Strasbourg, Top Music](https://www.topmusic.fr/yame-revelation-masculine-de-l-annee-enflamme-strasbourg)
7. [Yamê en concert, L'Officiel des spectacles](https://www.offi.fr/artiste/yame-176278.html)
8. [Prix Francis Lemarque de la Révélation, SACEM (2024)](https://societe.sacem.fr/actuimg/fr/live/v4/Createurs-Editeurs/Actualites/2024/2024_semestre2/grands_prix_2024_Laureat_yame.pdf)
9. [GIVE ME FIVE! 2022 dossier de presse, Réseau MAP](https://www.reseau-map.fr/app/uploads/2022/03/GIVE-ME-FIVE-2022-Dossier-de-presse.pdf)
10. [Yamê : "Les jams, c'est l'open mic des musiciens", Views](https://views.fr/blogs/interviews/yame-les-jams-c-est-l-open-mic-des-musiciens)
11. ["Ebem" nous plonge dans l'univers geek de Yamê, Le Monde (13 June 2025)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/06/13/eb-m-nous-plonge-dans-l-univers-geek-de-yame_6612765_3246.html)
12. [A la croisée des continents, Al-Ahram Hebdo](https://french.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=66603)
13. [Chanson Française, Bibliothèque francophone multimédia de Limoges, new CD list (November 2025)](https://bfm.limoges.fr/sites/bfm_de_limoges/files/media/downloads/nouveautes_cd_2025-11_aur.pdf)
14. ["Ne reviens pas", le nouveau single de Yamê, Just Music (7 May 2026)](https://just-music.fr/ne-reviens-nouveau-single-de-yame/)
15. [Yamê, Apple Music artist page](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/yam%C3%AA/1540808137)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Hip hop scenes worldwide › Artists, groups, and people: Hip hop scenes worldwide › Continental European rap*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license