Fatou Samba Explained

Fatou Samba
Birth Name:	Fatou Samba
Birth Date:	23 March 1995
Birth Place:	Dakar, Senegal
Years Active:	2020–present
Module:	Embed: yes Years Active: 2020–present

Fatou Samba is Belgian-Senegalese rapper, singer-songwriter, and model active primarily in South Korea. She is best known as a member and leader of the girl group Blackswan, being widely recognized as the first African-born idol in the South Korean music industry.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

On August 19, 2022, Fatou made her solo debut with the mixtape PWAPF.^[5]

Life and career

Fatou was born on March 23, 1995, in Senegal. She later moved to Belgium at the age of 12, where she pursued a career in modeling.^{[1] [6]} She became inspired to pursue a career in the K-pop industry after being shown Shinee's "Replay" by a friend, travelling to South Korea following her graduation from university, and joining a K-pop cover dance crew.^{[3] [7]}

After two years of training, Fatou made her debut in the South Korean girl group Blackswan on October 16, 2020.^{[8] [9] [10]} In August 2022, it was announced that Fatou would be making her solo debut with her first mixtape, PWAPF.^{[11] [12] [13]} She later returned in December 2023 with Letter 1 - Adeah.^{[14] [15]}

Discography

EPs and mixtapes

Title! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"

Album details	Peak chart positions			Sales
KOR	US Heat	US World
PWAPF	Released: August 19, 2022 Label: DR Music, Danal Entertainment Format: Digital download	—	—	—
Letter 1 - Adaeh^[16]	Released: December 8, 2023 Label: DR Music, Danal Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download	—	—	—

Notes and References

1. Web site: Four years ago, I moved to Korea without speaking the language. Now, I'm K-pop's first African idol.. Business Insider. Yoonji Han. November 19, 2023.
2. 'I'm Just Living My Dream': Blackswan's Fatou on Becoming K-Pop's First African Idol. Rolling Stone. May 31, 2022.
3. Web site: Meet K-pop's first African idol: Fatou of Blackswan. Yahoo! News. June 2, 2022.
4. Web site: Video Everything about K-pop's first African star, Fatou Samba. The Korea Herald. April 28, 2023.
5. Web site: K-Pop Idol Fatou on Her Solo Debut, Black Artists in K-pop, and Blackswan's Future. August 19, 2022. Ashlee Mitchell.
6. Web site: 다국적 걸그룹 블랙스완, '검은 진주' 파투(Fatou) 전격 신상 공개. Sports Donga. October 27, 2023.
7. Web site: "It's all worth it at the end of the day": BLACKSWAN's Fatou opens up about her journey of becoming a K-pop idol. Sportskeeda. June 7, 2022.
8. Web site: Blackswan's Fatou opens up about being Black in the K-pop industry. NME. June 1, 2022.
9. Web site: 걸그룹 블랙스완의 파투, 한국 사랑하는 오리지널 아프로-유러피안. The Korea Herald. October 28, 2020.
10. Web site: 이제 막 데뷔한 K-POP 최초 세네갈 출신 '흑인 래퍼'의 넘사벽 비주얼. Insight. October 16, 2020.
11. Web site: 블랙스완 래퍼 파투, 19일 믹스테이프 발표…벨기에 출신 흑인래퍼의 K힙합 도전. Sports TV News. August 5, 2022.
12. Web site: 블랙스완 래퍼 파투, 19일 첫 솔로 믹스테잎 앨범. August 4, 2022. Newsen.
13. Web site: 벨기에 출신 블랙스완 파투, 19일 솔로 믹스테이프 발매. News1. August 4, 2022.
14. Web site: 블랙스완 파투, 오늘(8일) 첫 믹스테잎 발매…걸그룹 초기 힘들었던 자아 표출. December 8, 2023. 8 December 2023 .
15. Web site: '블랙스완' 래퍼 파투, 오늘 첫 솔로 믹스테이프 발매. Newsis. December 8, 2023.
16. Web site: Blackswan's Fatou Samba Unleashes Solo Mixtape EP 'Letter 1 - Adaeh'. Times of India. December 8, 2023.