Kova Rea was born in 1961 to Martinican parents. Although he soon began composing his own songs, he was only 19 when he appeared on screen in Claude Lelouch and Jean Yanne's films Les uns et les autres and Moi y'en a vouloir des sous. Between 1980 and 1985, he was a revue leader for shows at Paris's Paradis Latin and Bobino, and became a choreographer. Bernard Lavilliers, who discovered him in the Martinican group African Magic Combo, which Kova Rea had joined in 1982, hired him as a backing singer in 1985. Three years later, he released his first solo album, Les Festivités, quickly followed in 1990 by a second opus, Pas de Limites. In 1992, he scored his biggest hit with a duet with Zouk Machine singer Joëlle Ursull, entitled "Serre-moi". He went on to become an events producer, organizing numerous shows in the capital.
