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Congolese Belgian poet, composer-lyricist/beatmaker, scriptwriter, actor and performer, video artist, stylist and film director.
He is sometimes credited as
Baloji TSHIANI (birth name)
MC Balo (Starflam Band)
Not to be confused with:
Photographer, Visual Artist and Filmmaker Sammy Baloji (also born 1978 in Lumumbashi, DRC, co-director of the film "Rumba Rules, New Genealogies - Rumba Rules, nouvelles généalogies", 2020).
Baloji (Baloji TSHIANI) is a poet, composer-lyricist/beatmaker, scriptwriter, actor and performer, video artist, stylist, film director and film producer.
He is known for AUGURE / OMEN (2023, first feature, Director), ZOMBIES
(2019, Short, Director).
Baloji (whose real name is Baloji Tshiani) was born on September 12, 1978 in Lubumbashi, Zaire (now in the Democratic Republic of Congo). He grew up in Liège, Belgium.
He is formerly known as MC Balo within the Starflam Rap group.
He sings in French. In 2008, he released his first solo album, "Hotel Impala", certified as a Gold Record and awarded a double Octave of Music award. It is followed by a second solo album, "Kinshasa branch", in 2010 and a solo EP entitled "64 Bits and Malachite" in 2015. In March 2018, he released his album "137 Avenue Kaniama".
He is multi-awarded for his short film "Zombies" (2019) which is part of the feature film "Afrofuturistik" (2019). His first feature fiction "Augure - Omen" (2023) was selected for World Premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.