Dada Tankoua
There are voices that transcend time without ever losing their power. Voices that sing not just to entertain, but to transmit, unite, and awaken. Dada Tankoua’s voice is one of those.
A Cameroonian singer, songwriter, and composer, Dada Tankoua is a committed figure in Ben-skin, the emblematic musical genre of western Cameroon, at the crossroads of rhythm, spoken word, and living tradition. Her music is not simply listened to: it is felt, embodied, and danced to.
Before forging her solo path, Dada Tankoua honed her artistic identity within the group BEN-SKIN Kouchoua Mbada, a group renowned for its contribution to promoting traditional Ben-skin. This collective experience was a true school: a school of stagecraft, musical discipline, and respect for cultural codes passed down through generations.
In this artistic melting pot, she learned to create a dialogue between voice and percussion, chorus and body, message and movement. An alchemy that would later become her signature.
Dada Tankoua is not just a performer. She writes her own lyrics and composes her own melodies. Each song is conceived as a story, often inspired by daily life, social realities, the African woman, community, culture, and traditional values.
Her lyrics oscillate between folk wisdom, subtle humor, and profound messages. They speak of love, respect, transmission, and resilience. All carried by a warm voice, sometimes gentle, sometimes powerful, always deeply felt.
Through Ben-skin, Dada Tankoua does far more than perpetuate a tradition: she reinvents it without betraying it. The rhythms are rooted in folk dance, the percussion calls to the body, while the voice tells the story of the people’s soul. Her energy is contagious, her connection with the audience is natural, almost familial. She sings like a story being told around a campfire, with sincerity and generosity.
Her journey testifies to a clear commitment: to keep Ben-skin alive, to make it heard beyond borders, and to show that traditional Cameroonian music has its rightful place on contemporary stages.
Today, Dada Tankoua continues on her path with unwavering conviction: to sing for memory, for celebration, for identity. Her music is a bridge between generations, a space where elders recognize themselves and where young people discover their roots in a new way.
Dada Tankoua doesn’t follow trends. She follows the rhythm of the heart, the rhythm of the drums, the rhythm of a people who dance so as never to forget who they are.
