Didier Awadi was born in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, in 1969. His parents were primary school teachers and his Beninese father was also a talented musician, who regularly played the organ at home and at church. Didier shared his father’s passion for music, but in the early ‘80s, the young teenager was drawn to a totally different sound: rap. Didier, whose early influences included America’s ‘godfather of hip-hop’ Afrika Bambaata, French rapper Sidney and Ivory Coast rap pioneers the Abidjan City Breakers, soon began organising breakdance and smurf shows at his local high school.

Didier went on to form his own rap outfit, Le Syndicate, a group that regularly competed with their arch rap rivals, Doug E. Tee’s King MCs. But in 1989, Awadi and Doug E. Tee buried the hatchet and joined forces to form the hip-hop duo Positive Black Soul (PBS). Meanwhile, Didier had enrolled for a degree course at university, but he abandoned his studies to devote himself to music full-time with Doug E Tee. Positive Black Soul began to forge an impressive reputation on the local music scene and French rap star MC Solaar picked up on PBS on a trip to Dakar in 1992. Impressed by what he saw, Solaar invited the duo to perform a series of gigs in Europe.

Positive Black Soul’s album "Boul Falé", released in 1994, opened a number of new doors for them. And the following year PBS joined Chris Blackwell’s legendary Island label. This marked the beginning of an international career and confirmed PBS as a leading light on the African rap scene.

After thirteen years with Positive Black Soul, Didier Awadi finally decided to branch out on his own and launch a solo career (without, however, officially bringing PBS to an end). He released a debut cassette album in December 2001. "Parole d’honneur – Kaddu Gor", which was only available in West Africa, included a series of remixes of songs by the likes of Alpha Blondy, Salif Keita and Omar Pene. In February 2002, Awadi presented his new songs at the French Cultural Institute in Dakar. Right from the start of his career, Awadi used his rap as a vehicle for his protest message, raising his voice in support of the anti-globalization cause. A few days after his appearance at the French Cultural Institute, Awadi flew out to Brazil to attend the World Social Forum (the annual meeting of the anti-globalization movement) in Porto Alegre.

In October 2003, Didier Awadi’s international career received a major boost when he won the RFI World Music Award. A jury in Dakar, chaired by Awadi’s compatriot Youssou N'Dour, presented the Senegalese rapper with the award and the following month Awadi was flown over to play in Paris. The militant rapper went on to bring the house down in Dakar with an energetic set at the Africa Fête festival in December 2003. Awadi went on to win another prestigious award the following year, travelling out to Mali to receive a coveted ‘Tamani d’or’ for Best African Rap Musician.

Awadi’s second album, "Un autre monde est possible" (the first of his albums released on the international scene) hit record stores in Senegal on 20 December 2004. Nine days later, the rapper took to the stage for a mega-concert at the Iba Mar Diop stadium in Dakar. Awadi’s new album was mostly recorded at Studio Sankara (the studio he had set up in Dakar) and found the rapper introducing new instruments such as the kora into his sound. "Un autre monde est possible" put across a militant anti-globalization message. On one track, "Stoppez les criminels", the Senegalese rapper joined forces with Ivory Coast reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly, an outspoken defender of the same causes. Tiken returned the favour, inviting Awadi to guest on his album "Coup de Gueule" on a track entitled "Quitte le pouvoir" (a song the pair performed live on stage together at the Africa Live festival in Dakar in March 2005).

Meanwhile Awadi, who had been honoured back home in Senegal and made a ‘Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ in France, embarked upon an extensive tour, playing dates across thirteen countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean region (including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Mauritius) in May and June 2005. Organising songwriting and music workshops in parallel to his concerts, the rapper hooked up with local movers and shakers on the rap scene in each of the different towns he played in. Awadi also flew out to perform in Brazil, then sped back to Africa to perform two concerts in Brazzaville (Congo) at the end of November.

Awadi kicked off 2006 with a memorable concert at La Maroquinerie, in Paris. July 2006 saw the release of the raper’s third album, "Sunugaal", which was released in Senegal then distributed in other West African countries. On the title track, the Senegalese rapper voiced his concerns about illegal immigrants, evoking the reasons so many of his compatriots were ready to risk their lives crossing the ocean in makeshift boats in the hope of making a better life for themselves in Europe. Awadi attributed a large portion of blame to Senegalese leaders who had failed to keep election promises to their countrymen. Ivory Coast stars Soumbil and DJ Bombastic guested on Awadi’s third album (available outside Africa exclusively as a legal download).

In February 2007, Awadi lent further support to the anti-globalization cause, lending his voice to the collectively-recorded track "Décolonisons!" featured on the compilation of the same name. (The album was a fund-raising special with proceeds donated to the French organisation Survie). Around the same time the Senegalese rapper also put in an appearance at the Sauti Za Busara festival in Zanzibar.

On 10 May 2007, the day commemorating the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, "Requiem noir", a stage musical featuring Didier Awadi, embarked upon an extensive tour of France. The show, which had premièred in Dakar in December 2006 as part of celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Léopold Sédar Senghor, honoured the memory of those who had fallen victim to the slave trade.

Meanwhile, Awadi also managed to put in an appearance in his own name at the Musiques Métisses festival in the French town of Angoulême. In June 2007, the rapper headed back to Africa to headline at two music festivals: Gabao Hip Hop in Libreville and Couleurs urbaines in Yaoundé

On 14 October 2007, Awadi premièred his new multi-media show "Présidents d’Afrique" at Le Bataclan, in Paris. The rapper had spent four entire years working on this ambitious project (also due to be released in album form in 2008). The show, based on speeches made by Africa’s founding fathers and influential thinkers from the diaspora, was an interesting attempt to recount Africa’s political history through hip-hop. A few days later, Awadi played at the grand finale of the seventh edition of the Waga Hip Hop festival in Burkina Faso (where he had previously appeared in 2005).

Awadi re-emerged in the news at the start of 2008, publishing a new protest song on his website. "On ne signe pas" (We won’t sign it now!) was an open attack on the economic partnership agreements between the European Union and the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) states. Rappers from a dozen African countries rallied to Awadi’s cause, giving a pan-African dimension to his protest.

January 2008