The rapper Calbony Holdknown as Calbo, one of the members of the French duo Ärsenik, died this Sunday at the age of 52, as confirmed by his family in a statement published on the group’s official Instagram profile.
In the message, the Mbani family has requested respect, discretion and consideration towards those closest to them. “Beyond the public figure, Calbo was above all a loved one, a family member“, they point out. At the moment no details have been released about the circumstances of the death or about possible tributes or public events.
Calbo was one of the most representative artists of the French rap scene in the 90s. In 1992, he founded the group Ärsenik with his brother Lino, from which some of his most recognized songs came out such as ‘Boxe avec les mots’ and ‘Une affaire de famille’. The group was recognized with a double gold record in 1998 for their first album, ‘Quelques gouttes suffisent’ and again in 2002 for their second album, ‘Quelque chose a survécu’.
He was also part of the Secteur Ä collective in the 90s, where he shared the stage with other artists of the genre such as Passi, Doc Gynéco and Stomy Bugsy.
Furthermore, in 1999 he participated in Bisso Na Bisso, a group in which he worked alongside other rappers of Congolese origin who also worked alone or in other groups such as his brother Lino, Ben-J from Les Neg’Marrons, Doc and G Kill from 2Bal and the rapper M’Passi. The group released two albums, ‘Racines’, which was released in 1999 and also received a double gold record, and ‘Africa’, which was published ten years later and included songs like ‘Show ce soir’ or ‘Là-bas’.