By Aditi Maheswshwari
Afropop singer from Cameroon, Charlotte Dipanda has released her second album. The album dubbed ”CD” was released in February 2021, is a work on her life’s story as a young woman. Dipanda’s shift into this new musical art form is something she sees as challenging. ”CD” which are the initials of her name has ten tracks. They include, ‘Quand tu n’es pas la’, meaning ‘’ When you are not there’’, ‘‘L’ombre d’une autre’’, translated as ‘’The shadow of another’’. The musical work also features artist Singuila with ‘Cœur en cage’ meaning ‘’Caged heart’’.
“I like the idea that people listen to my music when they are down. This is because they are willing at that moment. It was bias at the beginning of my career to tell me that as an African, we always tend to believe that if we do not dance if we are not drunk, there is always this second-degree side that we need to listen to music. And today, even if I make songs that you can dance to in a club, there is always a theme that will appeal to you. I like the intellectual side associated with the music”, the artist said.
The story of the young woman could almost be a fairy tale ride, natural talent blooming into complete glory in a short span of time. “Everyone sang at home, it was normal, and before me, it had not awakened any vocation” relativizes Charlotte. The young Cameroonian started out by singing in cabarets at the age of 15, she then continued as a backing vocalist in the studio and on stage. She accompanied the great’s such as Manu DIBANGO or Rokia TRAORE before joining the Gospel choir for 100 voices with which she performed in the Zéniths de France alongside artists like Axelle RED. Charlotte Dipanda now releases an album on her life’s journey to empower the female gender.
The soft-spoken diva was born on July 18, 1985 in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon, Charlotte is mostly known for playing acoustic music. ‘’CD’’ features her collaborations with the famous Congolese guitarist Olivier Tshimanga, Guy Nsangue and Singuila just to name a few.
“I think that if we give a little more responsibility or if women become aware of the responsibilities they have in our society, they will certainly be mature. Big up to the young girls who are in rural areas, because they are often forgotten in our society. I would really like that these young girls go to school so that they learn, and over the weekend also accompany their parents in the fields because it is not incompatible”, the singer added.
Her presence in Cameroon on the Gulf of Guinea, in Central Africa, was also to support young girls in remote areas. Thanks to her foundation, Dipanda has built a high school in the locality of Ebonè in the region of Moungo, more than 100 km from the capital Douala. “Our society has a great need for women. She is using this project to encourage young girls to go to school and get an education. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had appointed Charlotte Dipanda in Cameroon, as its new ambassador in 2019.
The 36 years old Dipanda hopes to resume concerts by September in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon and the rest of the continent. She also awaits the reopening of theatres in Europe that have been closed due to the pandemic. In concluding note I will like to say such ladies are our source of inspiration and help us believe in living an empowered life.
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