# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/pepe-kalle
# Generated: 2026-08-14T06:45:04.532Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/pepe-kalle"
name: "Pépé Kallé"
slug: "pepe-kalle"
description: "Jean-Baptiste Kabasele Yampanya wa ba Mulanga, known professionally as Pépé Kallé, was a Congolese singer-songwriter, bandleader, and performer. Noted for his robust, throaty baritone voice, he was a significant figure in the evolution of soukous and was referred to by various nicknames, among them the \"elephant of Zaire music\", \"La Bombe Atomique\", and \"the elephant of African music\". Before entering the music industry professionally, he composed songs that he sold to various bands to finance his education while also participating in the group African Choc, alongside Papy Tex. His early recordings also brought him into contact with influential veterans such as Le Grand Kallé, whose work played an important role in shaping Congolese rumba and influenced Pépé Kallé's musical direction."
tagline: "Prominent Congolese soukous singer (1951–1998)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/A_posture_of_Pepe_Kalle_in_1978.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Musicians"
  slug: "musicians"
profileType:
  name: "Singer / Musician"
  slug: "singer"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q177220"
birthDate: "1955-11-23"
deathDate: "1998-11-29"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           48.61
  momentum:             0.1907847372210223
  historical:           9.768582666666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     70
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
platforms:
  - platform:  "YOUTUBE"
    url:       "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9D18-XZMvO4LSpqMX9WUuA"
    handle:    "UC9D18-XZMvO4LSpqMX9WUuA"
  - platform:  "SPOTIFY"
    url:       "https://open.spotify.com/artist/6zK5u6YhHezhkI3QY485yV"
    handle:    "6zK5u6YhHezhkI3QY485yV"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.discogs.com/artist/458054"
    title: "Discogs"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9p%C3%A9_Kall%C3%A9"
    title: "Pépé Kallé"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9p%C3%A9_Kall%C3%A9"
    title: "Pépé Kallé"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BE%D9%BE%D9%87_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87"
    title: "پپه کاله"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_Kalle"
    title: "Pepe Kalle"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_Kalle"
    title: "Pepe Kalle"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9p%C3%A9_Kall%C3%A9"
    title: "Pépé Kallé"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9p%C3%A9_Kall%C3%A9"
    title: "Pépé Kallé"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_Kalle"
    title: "Pepe Kalle"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ln.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_Kalle"
    title: "Pepe Kalle"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_Kall%C3%A9"
    title: "Pepe Kallé"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c2a1a86c-1219-4a03-b34b-e4db2506bcb0"
    title: "MusicBrainz"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2325467"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump