Born in Mbigou, in the heart of Gabon’s southern forests, Huguette Lekat, known as Tita Nzebi, took her first steps on stage in 1997 with the group Ngumi. In 1998 she moved to France for her studies and, in 2006, chose to devote herself entirely to music.
With her debut maxi single MBISS MITI (2008), she introduced a distinctive musical universe that blends traditional African rhythms with contemporary sounds. In order to release her first album, she created her own label, BIBAKA, in 2010. This first album, METIANI, was released in 2011 and was highlighted in all FNAC stores in Paris for three months, which was a great surprise for this self-produced artist. In 2019, following a tour in India, she released FROM KOLKATA. In 2020 she published Mè Je suis, an autobiographical essay. In 2021, she expanded her discography with MOUMA’NGUE, Songs and Lullabies from Gabon. This album was a young public favourite of the Charles Cros Academy in France.
Her work is part of a musicology thesis defended on July 18, 2023 at the University of Aix-Marseille, France. The first biography of Tita Nzebi was written by journalist Christian Lagauche and published by Maïa in 2025. Her concerts, from Café de la Danse to 360 Paris Music Factory, and from India to Germany, Switzerland and Canada, have showcased her powerful, authentic voice, one that carries memory and freedom. For Tita, every performance is a return to her roots and a tribute to those who shaped and inspired her.
"There is a particular kind of musical courage required to make an album almost entirely in a language that fewer than half a million people in the world speak, and to do so not as an act of ethnomusicological preservation, not as provocation, but simply because it is the truest tongue available. Tita Nzebi, born Huguette Lekat in the equatorial forests of Mbigou in southern Gabon, has been exercising that courage since 2006, and on Réminiscence it has ripened into something close to mastery."
"We next have Mbama. Hypnotic, vibey and almost celebratory, this is like the rainbow after dreadful rains".
Four stars out of five. She has delivered a confident set rooted in Nzebi and wider Bantu tradition, while embracing contemporary production approaches. A joy.
She has delivered a confident set rooted in Nzebi and wider Bantu tradition, while embracing contemporary production approaches. A joy.
Tita Nzebi has never treated music as decoration. Rooted in the lush forests of Mbigou, Gabon, and shaped by a journey that has carried her from Africa to Europe and North America, her work has always leaned toward meaning over convenience. With “Reminiscence”, she offers not just a collection of…
There is a particular kind of musical courage required to make an album almost entirely in a language that fewer than half a million people in the world speak, and to do so not as an act of ethnomusicological preservation, not as provocation, but simply because it is the truest tongue available. Tita Nzebi, born Huguette Lekat in the equatorial forests of Mbigou in southern Gabon, has been exercising that courage since 2006, and on Réminiscence it has ripened into something close to mastery.
Hailing from the lush greenscapes of the beautiful Mbigou in Gabon, Tita Nzebi is emerging as a vibrant force in the music scene. With soundscapes that feel like a warm and cosy hug of nature, but at the same time leave you in awe.
Some albums entertain, and then there are albums that preserve history. “Réminiscence” by Tita Nzebi belongs firmly in the latter category. Emerging from the lush forests of Mbigou in Gabon and carrying with her the spiritual and cultural DNA of her homeland, Tita Nzebi has long stood as one of Africa’s most dignified and intentional musical ambassadors. With a career spanning Gabon, India, Canada, Germany, and beyond, she has cultivated a global presence without ever diluting her roots. On “Rém
There are albums that entertain, and then there are albums that carry. And ‘Réminiscence’ from […]
30 reviews worldwide