Quebec, Canada-based singer/songwriter Karim Ouellet was born on December 8, 1984, in Dakar, Senegal. He was adopted by a Quebec couple when he was just a few months old. While his father was a diplomat, his mother played the kora, a traditional African instrument, thus inspiring the young boy and his sister (rapper Sarahmee). Karim Ouellet was only 7 years old when he wrote his first song, and as a teenager, he discovered the electric guitar. He started playing with several local groups, feeding mainly on rock influences such as Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and Dire Straits. In the mid-2000s, he met Claude Bégin, who helped him write and compose his first album, Plume, which was released in 2011. Thanks to his unique style, which skillfully mixed folk and pop with reggae and African music, it received critical and commercial success and was honored with the Pop Album of the Year award at the Alternative Gala of Independent Music in Quebec. Karim Ouellet released his second album, Fox, in 2012, which featured the hit “L’amour”. In 2014, the album won the Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards. His third album, Trente, was released in 2016, followed by the EP Aikido in 2018. While working on his fourth album, Karim Ouellet was found dead in a recording studio on January 17, 2022. While no cause of death was given, foul play was initially ruled out.
