Nimon Toki Lala: the voice of Togolese soukous

On stage, Nimon Toki Lala transforms hardship into light. Born in 1955 in Kara, a small town in northern Togo, she remains one of the most striking female figures in Togolese music. Her journey, forged in precariousness and dignity, illustrates the fate of these pioneering artists who exported Togolese music to Europe’s and Africa’s biggest stages¹.

In brief

Key dates

Origins: a life of resistance

Born in 1955 in the city of Kara, northern Togo, Nimon Toki Lala — whose real name is Pyalo Lala Nimon Toki — grew up in extremely modest conditions. At her birth, her mother had only two wrappers: one covered her body, the other served as a mat. In fourth grade, she became pregnant and fled Kara to give birth to her cousin in Lomé. It was there, far from her family, that her talent as a singer and dancer awakened¹.

The revelation: RFI Prix Découvertes

Her life turned upside down one Saturday afternoon. In a Parisian nightclub, she was told to submit her application for the Radio France Internationale Prix Découvertes. On Sunday, she worked with guitarist Toto Guillaume and composed four tracks. On Monday, she submitted “Banina”, “La paille et la poutre” and two other songs. The result arrived: she had won. Under RFI’s umbrella, she played Europe’s biggest stages. « Everything I am today, I owe to RFI and no one else », she would say. Her style is characterized by soukous — that fast rhythm born from Congolese rumba, carried by interlaced guitars and a dancing bass². She blends these influences with the sound of her Togolese terroir, creating a bridge between two shores of Africa.

A pioneer of Togolese soukous

Nimon Toki Lala is among those women who shaped the musical identity of Togo. Carlos Danklou, director of All That Production studio, cites her alongside Bella Bellow, Afia Mala, Fifi Rafiatou and Yta Jouria: « These ladies gave an identity to Togolese music. They exported it internationally ». She collaborated with soukous giants: Sam Mangwana, Aurlus Mabélé and Awilo Longomba. Her album Consécration, released in 2013 under Jimmy’s Production label, gathers ten tracks and these prestigious collaborations. Songs like “La paille et la poutre” or “Banina” marked an entire generation of Togolese. For three years, between 2006 and 2009, she withdrew from the stage, on stand-by, following her mother’s illness and death in 2008. The return did not take long to come. In 2021, she returned with “Tu partiras sans rien” and “M’bou Bilaba”, followed in 2022 by “Seigneur Jésus”. At the dawn of her seventies, she continues to inspire young Togolese musicians³.

Major works

Legacy

Nimon Toki Lala embodies artistic resilience. From the little girl of Kara sleeping on a wrapper to the name that resonates from Bourget to Kinshasa, her journey is not just hers: it’s that of all those women who, without resources, paved the way for Togolese music on the world stage¹. Her voice, between frenzied soukous and spirituality, continues to carry the two worlds that made her: northern Togo and Paris, the land of origin and the land of emigration.

Sources and references