Born in the city of Lyon, France, in 1988, Lionel M. alias Black Monk is a talented artist still unknown to the general public. He started music at the very young age of 9 by following a Percussion course at the ENM (National School of Music). A big fan of Jazz and Blues classics, he began his musical career in 2011 as a MC and a beatmaker in the French independent Hip-hop world.
With three albums already released with his group Tha Snakes Crew, he has collaborated with numerous activists in the field such as VAX-1 from the collective MEGAFAUNE, KOMA from SCRED CONNEXION, and CHILLA from the label CAPITOL. In 2016, he collaborated with King Doudou (aka DOUSTER) on the “Poupées Russes” project. Already open to a different approach to music, this encounter will spark an insatiable desire for creation and an ever-growing curiosity.
Black Monk explores other musical styles as a composer and naturally turns to Pop music (Dua Lipa/Candice), House music (Diplo/Dj Snake) and the new African and Jamaican wave of Dancehall (Rvssian/Shenseea/Eugy Official). In 2017, he created his Soundcloud account and in just 3 months, he has collected some 120,000 streams, comments and shared contents on this platform.
In constant search for talented singers for his compositions, Black Monk then meets Tony B (NYC) as well as other artists around the world through specialized platforms like SoundBetter. Projects are starting to emerge and the team is building. Now associated with Scornight, they announce a first release in 2018.
Their first Single “Can’t Wait” featuring TONY B, in collaboration with the label SPACE PARTY and MMC, is available since April 27, 2018.
Wow, perfect song for a night out!