Biography

Known for her nuanced, R&B-styled vocal performances and for weaving coupé-décalé rhythms into her music, singer and songwriter Teeyah rose to fame in the mid-2000s following her feature spot on the Kaysha international hit "On Dit Quoi" in 2003. Based in France, she released her solo debut, Métisse, a year later. After her third full-length, 2009's Mise à Nue, became her most commercially successful album yet, she ventured into film acting, playing Raymonde in the 2015 musical Laurent et Safi. A native of Boundiali, Ivory Coast, Teeyah moved to France with her family as a child and grew up playing piano and flute. As a teenager, she met singer/rapper/producer Kaysha, who soon featured her on his single "On Dit Quoi" along with Top One Frisson and Anofela. The song was hit across Africa and beyond and led to success with tracks like "Couper Décaler" and "Je T'aime, Je T'aime, Je T'aime" from her debut album, 2004's Métisse. The record gave her a significant following in Europe and the Caribbean as well as on the African continent. Teeyah released her second long-player, Je Veux Vivre, in 2006. It won the RTI Music Award for Diaspora Music Album of the year. "Bye Bye" featuring Fally Ipupa was among the hits from her third full-length, Mise à Nue, issued in 2009. By then, Teeyah was touring the world, including shows in the West Indies, the U.S., and Canada. In 2013, she collaborated with Lynnsha on "Femmes Fatales 4," and in 2015, she made her big-screen debut as Raymonde to Tatiana Rojo's Safi in the musical Laurent et Safi. It featured nine original songs alongside over 25 African hits. Focusing on singles for the rest of the decade, she issued "T'es Pas Méchant" in 2018 and the Wiz Ofuasia collaboration "Cha Cha" in 2020, among other tracks. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi