Corneille (singer)

Corneille, French-speaking composer and performer of Rhythm & Blues. He was born in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) in 1977 under the name Corneilius Nyungura . The son of Rwandan engineering students, he returns with them to Rwanda at the age of seven.

In 1993, he won the "Discovery 93" organized by Rwanda television.

In April 1994, an armed group entered his house, gathered all his relatives in the living room (he managed to hide behind a sofa) and shot them. In fact, nine of his relatives die, but he manages to save his life, since the murderers did not search deeper.

After several days in hiding, he joins a group of refugees who, like him and his family, had been victims of the Rwandan genocide.

He is adopted by his parents' German friends and lives in Germany for three years before traveling to Quebec to study Communication and meet some relatives.

At Concordia University in Montreal, he joined forces with two immigrants from Haiti and founded the group O.N.E, achieving success with the song Zoukin.

He writes, composes and self-finances his first solo album; Parce qu'on vient de loin (Because we come from afar), of which it presents the singles: Avec Classe (October 2002), Ensemble (February 2003), Rêves de star (July 2003) and Parce qu'on vient de loin (January 2004).

Other tracks on the album refer to his tragic experience. This is the case of: Seul au monde, Tout va bien and Terre.

In 2006, he married Canadian model and actress Sofia de Medeiros.

Some of his statements

• I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. My teachers are Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Prince. The new soul It's a return to this kind of music. What I do can be called French soul.

• The world is unfair. The media have spoken of the genocide of Rwanda, one of the greatest after the Jewish holocaust, but have spoken much more of the attacks of 11 September 2001.

• My album is the celebration of my new life, a life that others had no right to.

• That your neighbor reads the Bible, the Qur'an or torah is of no importance, because at last they look a lot.

Discography

• 2002: Parce qu’on vient de loin
• 2004: Eat a fils
• 2005: Les marchands de rêves
• 2007: The Birth of Cornelius
• 2009: Sans titre
• 2011: Les Inseparables
• 2013: Entre nord et sud
• 2018: Love & Soul