In Abidjan’s Yopougon-Selmer district, hundreds gather for street dance battles set to biama, a hyper-fast offshoot of coupé-décalé music that has become a defining feature of Ivorian youth culture. The performers, some as young as five, compete with acrobatic footwork and dramatic movements, which some describe as “coupé-décalé at 200% speed.” The dance traces its roots to Yopougon, the working-class neighborhood that birthed coupé-décalé through the late Douk Saga, real name Stéphane Doukouré, and later propelled DJ Arafat to stardom. Today, biama thrives alongside maïmouna, a rap-infused subgenre of coupé-décalé. Despite critics dismissing biama as little more than neighborhood entertainment, proponents hope the movement will achieve international recognition while preserving Côte d’Ivoire’s tradition of pairing innovative dance with popular music.
The Guardian