View source for Fatou Samba

{{Short description|Senegalese-Belgian musician (born 1995)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Fatou Samba
| image              = BLACKSWAN Fatou Seoul Fashion Week September 2024.jpg
| caption            = Fatou in September 2024
| birth_name         = Samba Fatou Diouf
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1995|3|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Dakar, Senegal]]
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
* Singer
* Rapper}}
| years_active       = 2020–present
| parents            =
| relatives          =
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| genre           = {{flatlist|
* Pop
* [[K-pop]]}}
| instrument      = {{flat list|
* Vocals}}
| years_active    = 2020–present
| label           = {{flatlist|
*[[DR Music]]}}
| current_member_of = {{flat list|
* [[Blackswan]]}}
| website         =
}}
}}
'''Fatou Samba''' is a Senegalese-Belgian rapper, singer-songwriter, and model based in South Korea. She is best known as a member and leader of the girl group [[Blackswan]], being widely recognized as the first African-born idol in the South Korean music industry.<ref name="BI">{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fatou-blackswan-kpop-african-idol-korean-music-diversity-2023-11|title=Four years ago, I moved to Korea without speaking the language. Now, I'm K-pop's first African idol.|website=Business Insider|author=Yoonji Han|date=November 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/fatou-blackswan-kpop-interview-1355223/|title='I'm Just Living My Dream': Blackswan's Fatou on Becoming K-Pop's First African Idol|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 31, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Yahoo">{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/meet-k-pop-first-african-193202905.html|title=Meet K-pop's first African idol: Fatou of Blackswan|website=Yahoo! News|date=June 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230428000475|title=Video Everything about K-pop's first African star, Fatou Samba|website=[[The Korea Herald]]|date=April 28, 2023}}</ref>
On August 19, 2022, Fatou made her solo debut with the mixtape ''PWAPF''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/kpop-idol-fatou-solo-debut-black-artists-k-pop-blackswan-interview|title=K-Pop Idol Fatou on Her Solo Debut, Black Artists in K-pop, and Blackswan's Future|date=August 19, 2022|author=Ashlee Mitchell}}</ref>
==Life and career==
Fatou was born on March 23, 1995, in Senegal. She later moved to Belgium at the age of 12, where she pursued a career in modeling.<ref name="BI"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.donga.com/article/all/20201027/103652044/1|title=다국적 걸그룹 블랙스완, '검은 진주' 파투(Fatou) 전격 신상 공개|website=Sports Donga|date=October 27, 2023}}</ref> She became inspired to pursue a career in the K-pop industry after being shown [[Shinee]]'s "[[Replay (Shinee song)|Replay]]" by a friend, travelling to South Korea following her graduation from university, and joining a K-pop cover dance crew.<ref name="Yahoo"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/it-s-worth-end-day-blackswan-s-fatou-opens-journey-becoming-k-pop-idol|title="It's all worth it at the end of the day": BLACKSWAN's Fatou opens up about her journey of becoming a K-pop idol|website=Sportskeeda|date=June 7, 2022}}</ref>
After two years of training, Fatou made her debut in the South Korean girl group Blackswan on October 16, 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/blackswan-fatou-opens-up-being-black-k-pop-idol-industry-3238011|title=Blackswan's Fatou opens up about being Black in the K-pop industry|website=NME|date=June 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20201028000055|title=걸그룹 블랙스완의 파투, 한국 사랑하는 오리지널 아프로-유러피안|website=[[The Korea Herald]]|date=October 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insight.co.kr/news/308240|title=이제 막 데뷔한 K-POP 최초 세네갈 출신 '흑인 래퍼'의 넘사벽 비주얼|website=Insight|date=October 16, 2020}}</ref> In August 2022, it was announced that Fatou would be making her solo debut with her first mixtape, ''PWAPF''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spotvnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=540994|title=블랙스완 래퍼 파투, 19일 믹스테이프 발표…벨기에 출신 흑인래퍼의 K힙합 도전|website=Sports TV News|date=August 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=202208040910262410|title=블랙스완 래퍼 파투, 19일 첫 솔로 믹스테잎 앨범|date=August 4, 2022|website=Newsen}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news1.kr/entertain/music/4762917|title=벨기에 출신 블랙스완 파투, 19일 솔로 믹스테이프 발매|website=News1|date=August 4, 2022}}</ref> She later returned in December 2023 with her first EP, ''Letter 1 - Adeah''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=17020128011694759010|title=블랙스완 파투, 오늘(8일) 첫 믹스테잎 발매…걸그룹 초기 힘들었던 자아 표출|website=December 8, 2023|date=8 December 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20231208_0002550973&cID=10601&pID=10600|title='블랙스완' 래퍼 파투, 오늘 첫 솔로 믹스테이프 발매|website=[[Newsis]]|date=December 8, 2023}}</ref>
==Discography==
===EPs and mixtapes===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions, and sales
! rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Sales
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|[[Gaon Album Chart|KOR]]<br />
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|[[Top Heatseekers|US Heat]]<br />
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|[[Billboard charts|US World]]
|-
! scope="row" | ''PWAPF''
|
* Released: August 19, 2022
* Label: [[DR Music]], Danal Entertainment
* Format: Digital download
{{hidden|Track listing|
#Castle Key (Roll)
#Gucci (PWAPF)"
#Lingo (Stunna)
}}
| — || — || —
| {{N/A}}
|-
! scope="row" | ''Letter 1 - Adaeh''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/k-pop/music/news/blackswans-fatou-samba-unleashes-solo-mixtape-ep-letter-1-adaeh/articleshow/105841145.cms|title=Blackswan's Fatou Samba Unleashes Solo Mixtape EP 'Letter 1 - Adaeh'|website=Times of India|date=December 8, 2023}}</ref>
|
* Released: December 8, 2023
* Label: DR Music, Danal Entertainment
* Formats: CD, [[Music download|digital download]]
{{hidden|Track listing|
#The Other Side
#Devil Made the Deal for Me
#Adaeh
#Me Myself and I
#Alright}}
| — || — || —
|
|-
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:1995 births]]
[[Category:K-pop singers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Korean-language singers]]
[[Category:21st-century Senegalese women singers]]
[[Category:DR Music artists]]