Born on November 10, 1961, in Pointe-à-Pitre, Éric Brouta was quickly introduced to music in his youth, and began his musical career at the age of 16 in 1977. He joined a reggae band, Smoke, as drummer, before becoming a musician with more renowned groups, including Tabou n°2, Les Vikings de la Guadeloupe and Expérience 7. It was with the latter that he presented his first personal composition, "Mwen ké déviré". Largely integrated into the zouk aesthetic that was enjoying immense success in the West Indies, his meeting and duet with Frédéric Caracas brought him to wider public attention with the track "Chèché mwen", featured on the zouk-tinged album Ouvé ban mwen (1985). Éric Brouta joined Henri Debs' renowned record label, before officially launching his solo career three years later, in 1988, with his debut album Mwen ké déviré. With "Téléphone", he scored a huge hit and made a name for himself. The 1990s were marked by a number of albums, including Tou paré (1990), Zouk connection (1991) and Randezouk (1993), his most productive decade. With his tenth solo album, After, in 1996, Éric Brouta established himself as one of the key zouk figures of his time, capable of popular hits and a musician for major groups. This major role was confirmed in 2011, when Jacob Desvarieux invited him to the Grand Méchant Zouk concert at the Zénith in Paris. Stricken by a long illness, Éric Brouta passed away on May 8, 2014 at the age of 52 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.
