If there was enough room, we could fill pages with the life story of Marie-Pierra Kakoma, better known as Lous and the Yakuza. Born in the Democratic Republic Congo, she fled the civil war with her parents, going to Rwanda first and finally arriving in Brussels. There she started a career as a model, author, artist and, oh yes, musician. Even though her parents, who are both medical doctors, were hoping for a career in medicine for her as well. But Marie-Pierra has a mind of her own. She started calling herself Lous (an anagram of “soul”) and christened her musical team The Yakuza. On her autobiographical debut album Gore (2020) the 25-year-old talent combines singing and rap in a “hypnotizing way”, according to The Guardian newspaper. She can summarize her adventurous life in 30 minutes and has no qualms about describing the harsh realities every young black woman faces in present-day Europe.
