Aya Nakamura

Aya Coco Danioko (born 10 May 1995), known professionally as Aya Nakamura , is a French and Malian singer-songwriter. She began publishing her music online in 2014, gaining a following with the songs "Karma" and "J'ai mal". Dembo Camara, a longtime friend, became her producer and manager. Her song "Brisé" gained traction on YouTube, and a duet with rapper Fababy, "Love d'un voyou", resulted in her charting in France for the first time. She released her debut album, Journal intime, in 2017, followed in 2018 by Nakamura, which was certified diamond in France and has sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide. The album spawned the hit singles "Djadja" and "Copines" and launched the singer's international career. The same year, she beat the record held by Édith Piaf since 1961 as the most-listened-to francophone woman in the Netherlands.

Nakamura has accumulated six number-one songs and two number-one albums in France. She was awarded a Victoires de la Musique award for her 2020 album, Aya, which was certified double platinum in 2023, having sold 200,000 copies. She also won an NRJ Music Award and received multiple nominations for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best French Act. Two years after its release, Nakamura surpassed a billion

On 23 February 2025, the video for Nakamura's single "Djadja" became the fourth French-language song to surpass a billion views on YouTube, behind Indila's "Dernière danse", Stromae's "Papaoutai", and Willy William's "Ego". She is the first African musician to have a video with over a billion views, and she is the fastest French-speaking artist to reach this milestone in six years.

Early life Aya Coco Danioko was born in Bamako, Mali, on 10 May 1995, the oldest of five siblings, from a family of griots—West African storytellers, praise singers, and poets of oral traditions. She emigrated to France with her family as a child and grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois. She applied for French nationality as an adult and was granted it in May 2021.

Danioko studied fashion in La Courneuve. In a 2017 interview with Le Monde, she stated, "I wanted to be a fashion designer, but that stopped appealing to me, so I sang". She later pivoted into a music career and adopted the stage name Aya Nakamura, deriving the last name from the character Hiro Nakamura of the American science fiction television series Heroes.

Career

2014–2017: Journal intime In 2014, at the age of 19, Nakamura released her first single, "Karma", on Facebook. With the help of producer Seysey, she composed the breakup song "J'ai mal", with a zouk-inspired melody.

In 2016, she made the song "Brisé" with composer Christopher Ghenda. She followed it with "Love d'un Voyou", featuring rapper Fababy. She performed at the Modibo-Keïta stadium in Bamako, opening for American-Nigerian star Davido.

In January 2016, she signed a deal with Rec. 118 and Parlophone, a subsidiary of Warner Music France. The same year, she released the single "Super Héros", featuring rapper Gradur.

On 25 August 2017, she released her debut album, Journal intime, led by her first platinum hit, "Comportement". The record was certified platinum in France. On 23 September 2017, she participated in La Nuit du Mali, a celebration of Malian Independence Day, at Bercy. She shared the stage with Oumou Sangaré and other Malian artists, such as Cheick Tidiane Seck, Lassana Hawa, and Mokobé.

2018–2020: Nakamura On 6 April 2018, Nakamura released "Djadja"—the lead single from her second studio album—which spent two consecutive weeks at number one on the French charts and was later certified diamond.

The song became a hit in France as well as internationally. Nakamura became the first French female artist to reach number one in the Netherlands since Édith Piaf with "Non, je ne regrette rien", in 1961.

"Djadja" was also the first Francophone song since 2009 to reach the top of the Dutch charts, the last one being "Alors on danse" by Belgian artist Stromae. "Djadja" charted strongly across Europe, reaching the top five in Spain, top 40 in Belgium, Italy, Hungary, and Switzerland, as well as charting in Germany and Sweden. In April, she released the video for "Pookie", which became the most-viewed French music video that year. In August, she issued a remix of the song, featuring American rapper Lil Pump. In May 2019, she was portrayed by The New York Times as "one of the most important acts in Europe now, musically and socially".

In October, "Djadja" went Platinum in Spain and Portugal, while "Pookie" was certified double Platinum in Italy. In January 2020, it was announced that she would perform at that year's Coachella Festival.

On 12 June, Nakamura released a Spanish-language version of "Djadja", with Colombian singer Maluma.

2020–2021: Aya On 17 July 2020, Nakamura released the single "Jolie nana", from her third studio album, Aya. It debuted at number one on the French singles chart and achieved Gold status in two weeks.

On 9 October, she issued the second single from the album, "Doudou". It peaked at number 6 in France, in the top 40 in Belgium, and number 16 on the UK Afrobeats chart.

Aya came out on 13 November and included collaborations with Stormzy, Ms Banks, and Oboy.

On 26 March 2021, Major Lazer released a deluxe edition of their album Music Is the Weapon containing the song "C'est cuit", which features Nakamura and Swae Lee. This was followed on 27 May by the non-album single "Bobo", which peaked at number three on the French singles chart. Nakamura was also featured on French rapper Franglish's song "Sans moi", from his album Vibe. It was released as a single in August, and its music video reached one million views in 24 hours. Nakamura's image on the cover of Vogue France was chosen as the favourite magazine cover of 2021.

2022–present: DNK, Destinée In 2022, Nakamura released three non-album singles: "Dégaine" featuring Damso, "Méchante", and "VIP". "Dégaine" debuted atop the French singles charts, while the other two reached the top 40. In October, Nakamura performed a virtual concert in the video game Fortnite, becoming the first French artist to do so. This was followed by the release of "SMS" in December as the lead single from her fourth studio album, DNK. The album was released on 27 January 2023 and topped the French albums chart for two consecutive weeks. It was further promoted by two other singles, "Baby" and "Daddy", featuring SDM. On 17 August, Nakamura surprise-released a deluxe version of DNK, featuring three additional songs.

On 25 January 2024, she issued the single "Hypé". It was followed on 7 March by a remix in collaboration with Ayra Starr. At the second edition of the in April 2024, she won three awards, the most wins of that year. Following the releases of "Doggy", "Si Si" (with Morad), and "42", as well as her appearance alongside rappers SDM and SCH as a judge on the third season of Nouvelle École (France's equivalent of Rhythm + Flow). On 26 July 2024, she performed at the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The performance created a viral sensation on social media, with especially her mashup of "Pookie" and Charles Aznavour's "For Me... Formidable" trending both within and outside of France..

In February 2025, she released the single "Chimiyé".

In June 2025, a wax figure of Nakamura was unveiled at the Musée Grévin in Paris.

In October 2025, Nakamura sold out three dates at the Stade de France in May 2026 in just a few minutes, welcoming 240,000 people and setting a record for consecutive nights for a French-speaking female artist.

In November 2025, Nakamura released her fifth studio album, Destinée, which blends Afro-pop, Caribbean rhythms, and Afrobeats across eighteen tracks.

On July 31, 2026, Nakamura was featured on the track "Yaya," from Nigerian singer Davido's sixth studio album, Oriadé. The 13-track album, released to mark 15 years since the start of Davido's professional music career, also featured Black Sherif, Mayorkun, Fola, Leon Thomas, and Llona.

Artistry Nakamura's music draws on genres such as pop, R&B, zouk, and Afrobeats, with Shamira Ibrahim of Pitchfork calling her "fearlessly genre-bending". She writes her own lyrics, which are in French and make frequent use of argot as well as expressions borrowed from other languages such as English, Arabic, and Bambara. Her lyrics in particular have been the subject of much debate in the country. Detractors consider that her use of slang devalues the French language, with some, such as far-right commentator and politician Éric Zemmour, calling her lyrics "a foreign language". In November 2020, deputy Rémy Rebeyrotte of the centrist party Renaissance cited Nakamura during his argument in favour of a law that would ban discrimination based on accent in France, saying that the way she "reinvents" French expressions is "remarkable". Nakamura herself has expressed frustration over constantly being asked to explain the meaning of her lyrics and believes that this may be related to misogyny, as "there are [male] rappers who invent much worse" in her opinion. She has stated that "there are lots of people who speak like me and young people who understand".

Nakamura is also known for her "boastful" and "unapologetic" persona, which has been compared to that of artists such as Rihanna and Cardi B. This led to protests, especially from the far right, including a banner by Les Natifs (a splinter group of Les Identitaires) that read, "There's no way, Aya. This is Paris, not the Bamako market." Politician Marine Le Pen, the former president of the National Rally, also criticised the rumoured decision, deeming it a "provocation" and a "humiliation" on Macron's part. The backlash was described as racist by French politicians and public figures as well as by international media. In response, Nakamura received support from the Paris 2024 committee and others, including French Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Minister of Culture Rachida Dati. According to an poll, 63% of French people disapproved of Nakamura performing at the Olympics.

On 15 March, an investigation into racist online posts towards Nakamura was opened following complaints filed by the LICRA and SOS Racisme. Nakamura herself responded to the backlash with a social media post stating, "You can be racist but not deaf... That's what hurts you! I'm becoming a number 1 state subject in debates... but what do I really owe you? Nada."

At the opening ceremony on 26 July, Nakamura performed a medley of her songs "Pookie" and "Djadja" with Charles Aznavour's "", from his 1963 album Qui ?, accompanied by the French Republican Guard. It became the most-watched moment in French television history, with 31.4 million watchers.

Personal life Nakamura is Muslim. Since 2019, she has supported the ALIYAH association, created by the parents of a young girl suffering from hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

Nakamura gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in 2016. She has declined to share the father's identity. In 2019, she was in a brief relationship with her "Sucette" collaborator Niska. She has accused him of domestic violence and expressed regret over not pressing charges. In October 2020, she confirmed her relationship with music video producer Vladimir Boudnikoff, with whom she had worked previously. After an incident in August of the same year, Nakamura announced the couple's separation in October. Both Nakamura and Boudnikoff were charged with reciprocal domestic violence in relation to the events of August 2022. On 23 February 2023, a Bobigny judge ruled that Nakamura had to pay a €10,000 fine, while Boudnikoff had to pay €5,000.

Discography Albums Title Details Peak positions Units Certification FRA BEL(FL) BEL(WA) NLD ITA SPA SWI Journal intime Released: 25 August 2017 Label: Rec. 118, Parlophone, Warner Music France Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 6 143 34 — — — — SNEP: 2× Platinum Nakamura Released: 2 November 2018 Label: Rec. 118, Parlophone, Warner Music France Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 3 29 8 10 90 92 20 NLD: 20,000 SNEP: Diamond MC: Gold Aya Released: 13 November 2020 Label: Rec. 118, Warner Music France Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 2 14 2 36 — 71 8 SNEP: 3× Platinum SNEP: Platinum BEL(WA) GER ITA LUX NLD SPA SWI BEA: 3× Platinum BPI: Silver BVMI: Gold FIMI: Platinum IFPI SWI: Gold MC: 2× Platinum PROMUSICAE: 4× Platinum Nakamura "Copines" 1 — 7 — — — 46 181 — 60 SNEP: Diamond MC: Platinum FIMI: 2× Platinum

— "VIP" 39 — — — — — — — — — SNEP: Gold 16 — — — — — — — — — SNEP: Gold 2023 2 — 8 — — 15 — — — 22 SNEP: Diamond "Oublier" 2016 96 — —— Journal intime "Fuego" 2017 85 — —— "J'ai mal (Part 2)" 18 — —— SNEP: Platinum "Beleck" 39 — —— "Coller" 51 — —— "Haut niveau" 56 — —— "Le goût" 59 — —— "Bloqué" 80 — —— "Bisous"62——— "Chérie"23——— "Anesthesie"202550———Destinée "Baby Boy"71——— "Dis-Moi"95——— "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Tours Headlining Nakamura Tour (2019) DNK Tour (2023–2024) Destinée Tour (2026)

Awards and nominations