Some days, I feel like I know very little pop music. While I know who Lady Gaga is, my thirteen year old had to explain to me who RedOne is (co-writer of "Poker Face", among other things) and that he has formed his own record label, 2101 Records (which is distributed through Universal). RedOne's first signing was Mohombi (another name that meant nothing to me) so I looked at some of his YouTube videos and the views for these videos are ranging between 2M - 26M (for "Bumpy Road").

Mohombi has a fascinating backstory and an album coming out soon -- the details are below.

Raised the youngest of 15 siblings by his Swedish mother and Congolese-King father in Africa, Mohombi escaped war-torn Congo with his family to Stockholm where he and his older brother, Djo, formed the duo Avalon, became a huge dance club sensation and eventually sold over half a million albums in Europe and Africa. They also won the prestigious African Grammy in 2002.

Today, Mohombi is making his way into the US market as a solo artist with his upcoming debut album Movemeant, produced by Grammy-winning super-producer RedOne (Akon, Usher, Lady Gaga). The album is expected to be out in Spring or early Summer 2011 and features Nelly, Akon, T.I. and Nicole Scherzinger (from Pussycat Dolls). Mohombi’s first single from the album, “Bumpy Ride” has charted in 11 countries overseas - including impressive Top Five positions in The Netherlands, France, Slovakia and Poland.



Mohombi's most recent video, for the track "Dirty Situation", features Akon (who has worked with artists ranging from Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga).



Links:
Mohombi