Prince Nico Mbarga

By Chale - Posted on November 15th, 2006

View all from Nigeria
Date of Birth 2008-05-16
Real Name Prince Nico Mbarga

Prince Nico Mbarga is a musician of Nigerian and Camerounian parentage. He is most famous for his 'Sweet Mother' hit, a tribute to all mothers which has been one of Africa's most popular songs ever. Through his band, he helped popularize highlife while incorporating traditional styles from across the West African sub-region. He made his professional debut with Melody Orchestra in 1970 before he formed his own band called Rocafil Jazz, with which he one-time recorded 9 albums in 6 years.

Information about Prince Nico Mbarga

From the Editor:

Song lyrics
Aki Special (1976)
Sweet Mother

Popular as his works are, I

Submitted by Dayo (not verified) on Wed, 2007-10-10 07:49.

Popular as his works are, I wonder how much his family makes from royalties of his songs considering the fact that he died in (near-)penury.

Nico Mbarga

Submitted by Chale on Wed, 2007-10-10 10:41.

I wonder as well Dayo. How come he died in near penury though?
His Sweet mother song is said to have sold 13 million copies which is a great feat. I am not sure if he sold that many because he was on a great record label (which may have taken all his money) or because the song was so popular and he had some great distribution channels.
It seems Rocafil Jazz is still going strong with Louisiana Tilda et al.