9 Black European male singers you should know

Stromae

Last week for Black History Month, the chart-topping Black European female singers. This week the male singers who have made their mark nationally and sometimes internationally. Eddy Grant from the UK with Electric Avenue  of 1983 is the first in the compilation.

1. Eddy Grant (UK) -  Electric Avenue - 1983 

"Electric Avenue" is a song by Guyanese-British musician Eddy Grant. It was released on his 1982 studio album Killer on the Rampage. In the United States, with the help of the MTV music video he made, it was one of the biggest hits of 1983. The song refers to Electric Avenue in London during the 1981 Brixton riot

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2. Billy Ocean (UK) - When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going - 1985

Leslie Sebastian Charles, known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British GRAMMY-Winning Singer/Songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally. 

His hit song  "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" became an international success. The music was theme song for film Jewel of the Nile. The music video was  shot at Brixton Academy in London, and features Douglas and his Jewel of the Nile co-stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito as lip-synching backing vocalists. 

 

 

 3. Soul II Soul (UK) - Keep On Movin - 1989 

The group of Jazzie B with Caron Wheeler. "Keep On Movin'" is a song by British soul and R&B band Soul II Soul. It became one of the most successful songs of the band. It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart upon its release in March 1989 and number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was even more successful on Billboard's R&B charts, where it hit number one.

4. Mc Solaar (France) - Bouge de là - 1991

"Bouge de là" (French, meaning: "move from there" or "get out of here", also translated as "take a hike") is the debut single by MC Solaar.

Claude Honoré M'Barali, professionally known as MC Solaarcis a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. 

 

5. Re-Play (The Netherlands) - Kijk Om Je Heen [Look around you]  - 1997

Re-Play is a Dutch R&B group from The Netherlands. The group is composed of singers Alwin Burke, Mark Dakriet, Henk Waarde and Samuel de Wit. 

6. Craig David (UK) - fill me up  - 2000

"Fill Me In" is the debut solo single of British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, Born to Do It (2000). According to the Official Charts Company, it was the 10th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK, having sold 573,000 copies.

Craig was born in the UK, his father is Afro-Grenadian and David's mother is Anglo-Jewish. 

7. Samy Deluxe (Germany) - Weck mich auf [Wake me up] - 2001

"Weck mich auf" ("Wake me up")  was the hit single from his debut album “Samy Deluxe”.

Samy Sorge, commonly known as Samy Deluxe, Wickeda MC or Sam Semillia was born in Germany to a South Sudanese father and a German mother.    

8. Xavier Naidoo (Germany) - Ich kenne nichts  - 2008

Xavier Kurt Naidoo is a German soul and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer.
Born and raised Germany, to South African parents of South African Indian, Telugu, German and Irish descent.

 

9. Stromae (Belgium) - Alors on danse (Belgium) - 2010

"Alors on danse", French for "And so we dance" is a song by Belgian singer Stromae. It was released in September 2009 in Belgium and in February 2010 in the rest of Europe. The song reached number one in many countries in Euroep and also reached number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.

Paul van Haver, better known by his stage name Stromae, was born in Belgium to to a Tutsi father from Rwanda and a Flemish mother.  

 

See also: 18 Black European female singers you should know