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Kamini Zantoko

Writing Born Dec 8, 1979 Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, Aisne, France 14 credits

Biography

Kamini Zantoko is a Black French musician and screenwriter.

Kamini's father—Seyolo Zantoko—and his family moved from Zaire to Marly-Gomont, France in 1975. They had difficulty assimilating as the first Black people in town. Kamini grew up there, and by the summer of 2006, was working part-time as a nurse. Seyolo died sometime prior to 2012.

Aspiring to make hip hop music, in 2006 he wrote about Marly-Gomont ("Marly-Gomont"). In his music video, made in late June on a budget of €100 (equivalent to €125 in 2022), he raps about farming and games with his friends and fellow villagers. On 30 August, Kamini uploaded the video and cold-emailed promotions to record companies; instead, a t-shirt retailer shared the link online, and by the end of the day, "Marly-Gomont" was a hit. Off the merits of his amateur viral video, Kamini signed with RCA Records on 2 November to publish "Marly-Gomont" and two more albums.

In 2012, Kamini wrote and narrated the autobiographical film The African Doctor (French: Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont, lit. 'Welcome to Marly-Gomont') to pay tribute to his father. It was released in 2016, directed by Julien Rambaldi.

Source: Article "Kamini (rapper)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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Full filmography

  • Chronicles of the Sun (2018) as Wilson Samba
  • Victoires de la musique (1985) as Self
  • Star Academy (2001) as Self
  • On n'est pas couché (2006) as Self - Guest
  • La chanson de l'année (2004) as Self
  • Le Bigdil (1998) as Self - Guest
  • Alexandra Ehle (2018) as Leonardo Alli
  • Le Dézapping du Before (2013)
  • I3P (2022) as Patrick
  • Karma, too young to shut up (2026) as Fred
  • Petit ange (2022) as Le pompier
  • Tricheurs (2026) as Kamini
  • Ruben fête ses 25 ans (2015) as Self
  • Harissa mon amour (2013) as Laurent