Erika Dobong'na was born in Paris in 1964. Erika's parents are both Cameroonian but her mother, who was the daughter of the chief of a local tribe, sought political exile in France before Erika's birth. She went on to meet Erika's father at university and the couple ended up having four daughters together (Esther, Erika, Eva and Elga).

Erika proved to be something of a musical prodigy in her childhood, attending the prestigious Paris Conservatoire from the age of five. There the musically-minded youngster underwent voice training and studied the piano. Erika was not too keen on classical music, however, and when she got a guitar for her 12th birthday she immediately began experimenting with covers of Beatles and Bob Marley songs. The talented youngster soon went on to form her own group and at the age of 14 Erika and her friends took a few weeks' break from the local lycée to embark upon a mini-tour of Brittany. Erika managed to juggle her precocious musical career with her schoolwork, however, and after completing her baccalauréat went on to study for a degree in literature.

However, music remained her real vocation. And in 1982 Erika went on to form another group with her sisters, calling themselves Blackheart Daughters. Erika then progressed to another band, Princess and the Royal Sound, with whom she performed regularly on tour, acting as a support act to Jamaican star Dennis Brown.

At the end of 1986 Erika flew off to London to record her first album with a team of musicians from the famous British reggae group Aswad. Multi-talented Erika produced her debut album herself but, unfortunately, the album was not to be released immediately. Erika would have to wait until 1988 before the release of her first single "Trop de blabla" (on the Celluloïd label). But when it was finally released Erika's catchy reggae song - "addressed to all those who waste time showing off talking instead of acting!" - proved to be an instant hit on the French music scene.

Princess Erika went on to record a second single in 1989, entitled "Tendress". But this time round success was not on the cards - indeed, "Tendress" failed to make the French charts and ended up sinking without a trace. Undeterred by this setback, Erika came bouncing back to the forefront of the French music scene three years later with an eponymous second album (released in July 1992). Fans would get a foretaste of Erika's new work on the first single release "Calomnie". Erika's second album, which contained twelve tracks in all, gave the singer the chance to show off her arranging and songwriting skills as well as her vocal talent. As far as musical influences were concerned, Erika managed to create an eclectic mix of reggae rhythms, soul, funk and jazz.

The writing of this album took the singer several long months and Erika gained much valuable musical experience in the process. By this stage of her career Erika had gained considerable artistic maturity and offers of tours and concerts soon began flooding in from all sides. In October and November 1992 Erika was invited to go on tour with Les Négresses Vertes and the following month she brought the house down when she performed at the Transmusicales festival in Rennes. The following year Erika hit the road again, heading off on a tour of the Paris suburbs and performing an exceptional one-off date at the legendary Paris jazz club Le New Morning (12 February 93). After heading down to la Rochelle to perform at the Francofolies Music Festival, Erika would fly out to Quebec in July to perform at the Canadian version of Francofolies.

By this stage of her career Erika's hip reggae sound had earned her the label 'France's favourite female Rasta star'. Following the success of her first two albums, the French Rasta queen soon headed back to London to record a new album, mixed by Stéphane Blaëss (ex-Ghetto Blaster and a faithful musician friend of Erika's for many years). In April 1995 Erika's new album, "D'origine", was released to much acclaim, largely thanks to the success of the first single "Viens". The album contained a host of other accomplished tracks as well including an outstanding duet with the legendary reggae star Freddy Mac Greggor ("Longtime"). "Tu t'affoles", a song which evoked a mother's concerns for her child, was a more personal number (Erika had given birth to her own son Julien in 1985). And another track from the album, "Faut qu'j'travaille" - a kind of 'ode' to idleness - was later remixed by Andy Marvell, a rising star on New York's hip hop and reggae scene.

Erika's career continued at its hectic pace over the next few years and in 1996 she teamed up to record a duet with French star Marc Lavoine ("les Hommes sont des femmes comme les autres"). Erika also got involved with Les Enfoirés, a group of French singers and musicians who perform fund-raising concerts for various charities. By 1997 she was back in the studio, however, recording another duet with a young rapper called Nigga Phy ("Sale époque"). Meanwhile, Erika continued with her songwriting work, penning a song called "Embrasse-moi" for the duo Les Nubians and writing material for the Antillean artist Jane Fostin.

One of the most outstanding highlights of Erika's career came in 1998 when the singer realised one of her childhood dreams, flying out to Kingston, Jamaica, and recording her new album with world-famous reggaemen Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. The album "Tant qu'il y aura" (which ended up being mixed in the UK like Erika's previous work) was released on the French music scene at the start of '99. Fans rediscovered the Rasta Princess's new reggae rhythms on the first single release, "Nouvelle génération" - a track which explored the angst of today's teenage generation.

In 1999 Princess Erika organised a fund-raising concert for "La Chaîne de l'espoir" (a charity which flies children from Third World countries to France for operations and hospital treatment). Thanks to her enthusiasm and organisational abilities, some 25 female singers got together on stage at La Cigale in Paris on March 8th 2000 and donated all proceeds from their concert to "La Chaîne de l'espoir". The girls got together again exactly one year later to perform another concert and record a video clip for their collective single "Que serai-je demain".

In 2000, Princess Erika put her singing career on hold for a while and displayed another talent, acting in the film and theatre world. (This was not an entirely new experience for her as she had already co-starred with Anémone in Romain Goupil's film "Maman" in 1989 and, the following year, appeared with the French comedian Smaïn in Thierry Barthes' movie "Charity Biz'ness"). In 2000, Princess Erika took to the stage in Peter Brooks' play "Le Costume." Then, between 2001 and 2004, she performed in the French adaptation of Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues." In 2003 Princess Erika also made an appearance in the French-Congolese film "Le jardin de Papa" directed by Zéka Laplaine.

Princess Erika did briefly step behind the mike again in 2002, going into the studio with her childhood friend Sally Nyolo (formerly of the group Zap Mama) to sing on her album "Zaïone."

Princess Erika made a recording comeback in her own right in October 2005, bringing out her fourth album, "A l'épreuve du temps." Like her first album, this fourth opus was entirely produced by the singer from A to Z. Besides writing all the lyrics and arrangements on the album herself, Princess Erika kept her new album in the family. Her son, Julien, guested on the duet "S'elever" and Erika's three sisters provided backing vocals on the rest of the album. While "A l'épreuve du temps" was still driven by a powerful reggae vibe, France's reggae princess did not totally conform to orthodox Jamaican music, using plenty of African rhythms and violins on her new album. Erika's fourth album proved to be a very personal work, featuring songs on which the singer spoke freely about herself, her life as a mother and career woman, her multicultural personality and everything that has gone into making her the artist she is today.

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Whether you like to think of her as French or African, one thing's for sure, Princess Erika's musical influences infuse her sound with a catchy Caribbean feel. When it come to lyrics, Erika is a singer who knows her own mind. Her songs either explode with energetic rage or brim over with heart-felt passion.

November 2005