K.Maro
| K.Maro | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cyril Kamar |
| Born | January 31, 1980 |
| Origin | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Genres | Hip hop, rap, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, rapper, producer |
| Instruments | vocals |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | K.Pone.Inc Music Group |
| Associated acts | LMDS, Vaï |
| Website | kmaro.com |
Cyril Kamar, (in Arabic سيريل قمر) (born January 31, 1980 in Beirut, Lebanon) better known by his stage name K.Maro, sometimes also K'Maro is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter and producer of Lebanese origin. He sings in French and in English. He is also founder / owner and CEO of K.Pone.Inc Music Group, an entertainment company and K.Pone.Inc record label, with signing of a host of well-known artists.
In 2002, K.Maro released an album entitled "I am à l'ancienne" only in Canada. K.Maro released his official solo debut album La Good Life in the mid 2004, with 3 singles released from it. He also released his second studio album, Million Dollar Boy, in late 2005. In 2006 he released his first remix album - 10th Anniversary: Platinum Remixes. His third studio album entitled Perfect Stranger was released on October 24, 2008. His most recent album 01.10 was released on the 27th of April 2010.
Biography
K.Maro is a francophone and anglophone singer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His real name is Cyril Kamar, and he was born in Beirut, Lebanon on January 31, 1980. After a short stay in Paris, France, his family moved to Canada in 1991.
In LMDS
K.Maro first broke through to the Quebec charts with his group LMDS, the name, an abbreviation for "Les Messagers du Son". It was actually a French language hip hop duo in Montreal, Quebec, Canada formed in 1993 and made up of Cyril Kamar, called Lyrik in LMDS and Adil Takhssait called Mélo in the duo, while production duties were handled by producer/composer Phil Greiss.
The band achieved great success in Quebec and launched two successful albums Les Messagers du Son in 1997 and Il Faudrait Leur Dire in 1999. LMDS broke up in 2001. Both artists continued their musical careers, Cyril Kamar (Lyrik) as K.Maro and Adil Takhssait (Mélo) as Vaï.
Solo career
After the breakup of LMDS, Cyril Kamar became successful as a solo artist, taking the name K.Maro (alternatives K'Maro and K-Maro). A hip hop and R&B singer-songwriter and producer, he became an instant international success particularly with his first major hit worldwide titled Femme Like U in 2004. His songs are frequently a mix of French and English lyrics, and sometimes Arabic. The album Perfect Stranger is his first all-English language album.
K.Maro also established and owns K.Pone Inc Music Group entertainment company and "K.Pone Inc" record label as well as "Balbec" line of clothing.
Collaborations with artists
In addition to solo career, K.Maro is known to have collaborated with a number of artists:
Examples of these include:
- Many collaborations with DJ Shortcut and notably in Fresh that also featured Moshine. Another collaboration with DJ Shortcut and Moshine was in On est là
- He was featured in Chance of The 411, version exclusively available on the French edition of Between the Sheets
- He was featured in Le clan chill of Corneille
- He was also featured in Nos couleurs of Cheb Mami
- He featured Shy'm in his own single Histoires de Luv
- Has written a lot of materials for Shy'm's debut album Mes Fantaisies and was featured in À l'abri in the second album of Shy'm entitled Reflets
- He collaborated with Belly and Rad in Change The Game
- His song Love It or Leave It features Imposs
- His song Out in the Streets Remix features Jim Jones
- His song Never Walk Away features Odessa Thornhill
- His song Take You Away (Part 2) features the Canadian rock singer Jonas Tomalty
- He produced the 2013 version of Indonesian singer Anggun's hit "Snow on the Sahara" for her album, Best-Of: Design of a Decade 2003–2013.
K.Pone.Inc
K.Maro also runs the K.Pone.Inc. Music Group,[1] an entertainment group that goes into music production, promotion and distribution. K-Pone Inc. has its own "K.Pone Inc" record label, that has signed many artists, including amongst others:
- Shy'm (real name Tamara Marthe)
- Imposs (real name S. Rimsky Salgado)
- Ale Dee (real name Alexandre Duhaime)
- Vaï (real name Adil Takhssait)
Balbec
"Balbec" is K.Maro's own line of upmarket clothing line. "Balbec" [2][3] is named after his hometown Baalbek in Lebanon.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | AUT | CAN | FIN | FRA | GER | SUI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | I am à l'ancienne | ||||||
| 2004 | La Good Life | 30 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 26 | |
| 2005 | Million Dollar Boy | 5 | 20 | ||||
| 2006 | 10th Anniversary: Platinum Remixes | 76 | |||||
| 2008 | Perfect Stranger | 79 | |||||
| 2010 | 01.10 | ||||||
Chart positions:[4]
Singles / Videos
| Year | Single | AUT | BEL | CAN | DEN | FIN | FRA | GER | NED | SUI | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Symphonie pour un dingue" | I am à l'ancienne | |||||||||
| 2004 | "Femme Like U" | 4 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 1 | La Good Life | |
| 2004 | "Crazy" | 32 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 8 | La Good Life | |||
| 2005 | "Sous l'oeil de l'ange" / "Qu'est ce que ça te fout" |
10 | 29 | La Good Life | |||||||
| 2005 | "Histoires de Luv" | 5 | 6 | 21 | Million Dollar Boy | ||||||
| 2005 | "Les frères existent encore" | 8 | 31 | Million Dollar Boy | |||||||
Chart positions:[5]
- Non-charting singles / videos
- 2006: "Gangsta Party"
- 2006: "Let's go"
- 2008: "Out in the Streets"
- 2008: "Take You Away"
- 2009: "Out In The Streets (Remix) feat.Jim Jones
- 2009: "Elektric"
- 2009: "Music"
Awards
- In November 2006, K-Maro won "The International Achievement Award" at the 17th Gala of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)[6]
See also
References
External links
- K.Maro Official site
- K.Maro Official Myspace site
- K.Maro TV Official site
- Balbec K.Maro's fashion clothing line
- K.Pone Inc label site
- K.Pone Inc YouTube site
- Biography of K.Maro, from Radio France Internationale
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