Julie Mabéa launched her artistic and musical career in 1991. Influenced by the many musical styles circulating in Côte d'Ivoire at the time, including soukouss and ndombolo imported from the Congo, she presented Lekiné Facile (1991) that same year. This debut album was an opportunity for the singer to combine these rhythms with her own lyrics, sung in Yacouba, French or Swahili. Julie Mabéa won over her audience, enabling her to continue her career with Suzy Bayom and then Yema la Vie, two albums released in 1994 and 1996 respectively. The danceable rhythms of "Les grandes hommes" (1996) and "Apo Lekiné" (1996) won over the public, who discovered the singer's biggest hit two years later: "Bassonga " (1998). The album diversified Julie Mabéa's music, incorporating the arrival of zouk from the West Indies. Alongside Plénitude (2006) and Pile ou face (2017), Mabéa founded Eighteen Mountains Production, a structure to help emerging artists achieve professionalism and economic independence.
