Jean-Marc Monnerville – better known as Kali[1] – was born in Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique, on 21 February 1956. His mother was a writer and primary school teacher; his father a professional musician who had formerly played with the African Band in Paris. The young Jean-Marc thus grew up in a creative, musical environment. As for his stage name Kali, Jean-Marc adopted this in his childhood, calling himself after the famous chick cartoon character Kalimero.
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Kali's musical career began in earnest when his father sent him to France in the early 70's to study music. The teenage Kali, heavily into percussion in the early days of his career, earnt valuable musical experience performing with several different groups before going on to form his own at the age of 19. By the time Kali formed his second group 6ème Continent in 1979, he had adopted a full-on Rasta style, growing a full head of dreadlocks. Playing a mix of reggae and traditional music from the French West Indies, Kali and his new group soon made a name for themselves on the French music scene. Indeed, 6ème Continent went on to record several hit singles. But it was right after the record company CBS asked them to modernize their sound, that Kali decided that it was the time for the group to split.
It was time for the young artist to go back home. He wanted to explore more his musical roots and so he did. His experiences and experiments were included in two solo albums that were out in 1988 and 1990. Though he had taken the decision to stay in his hometown, Kali returned to Paris for a massive live performance, which was actually captured on a new live album. But it was the year 1992 that changed Kali's life once and for all...the year that he participated in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Kali sung his own composition Monte la rivié (Going up the River) in the contest that was held in Malmoe. Accompanied with fellow musicians his song was the absolute surprise. Kali was marvellous on stage playing his banjo but the juries did not see a winner within him. The French entry ranked 8th among 22. His performance though, gave him popularity back home in France and helped the sales of his next album Lese la te tounen (Let the Earth Move). In 1994 he won an award from the Sacem (French Association of Songwriters and Composers) and one of the songs of the album was credited as the Best Song of The Year.
Kali had a new album in 1995, with unplugged versions of his former hits. He once again angered conservatives and certain nationalists with his powerful lyrics. He continued to give concerts throughout France and in 1996 he was invited to sing in Zimbabwe where he joined other musicians celebrating the Centenary of the first anti-colonial insurrection. After a European tour, Kali had a new album titled Racines IV in 1998. Nowadays Kali spends most of his time close to his hometown, worrying and singing against the pervasive influence of globalization. He also give concerts to schools in Martinique in order to share his view of music and roots with young students.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Lesse La Te Tounen |
| 1995 | Debranche |
| 1996 | Racines III |
| 1998 | Francofaune |
| 2001 | Racines IV |
| Preceded by Amina with C'est le dernier qui a parlé qui a raison |
France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 |
Succeeded by Patrick Fiori with Mama Corsica |