Herleo Muntu

HERLO MUNTU is a Franco-Ontarian artist who boasts a strong foothold in the music industry in Canada. Ten years into his career and with three albums to his credit, he has performed over 300 shows both in Canada and abroad for 250,000 spectators. HERLO MUNTU was a finalist in the 2009 Trille Or Awards in four categories, competing with the likes of Damien Robitaille, SWING, Konflit Dramatik and Tricia Foster. In 2011, he received first prize for best album in the COCAN Awards. In the 2013 African Entertainment Awards in Toronto, he was a finalist in the Best Male Artist category. The critics are unanimous: you have to listen to HERLO MUNTU's music and watch his show to understand what he's all about!

Herlo Muntu is an artist at a crossroads. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he grew up in Canada, thus soaking up the two cultures, listening to various styles of music and continually evolving in two very different worlds. It is this dual identity that has made him who he is today, an artist of the Hip-Pop world, as he likes to define himself. He is unique and loves to transform North American urban music by adding flavors of world music like Congolese pop and Latin. His innovative sounds are greeted with enthusiasm by French-speakers from one end of the country to the other and his English-speaking following is also growing day by day.  Today, HERLO MUNTU is one of the ambassadors for French-speakers in Ontario, in Canada and in Africa where the artist is currently carving out a niche for himself.

HERLO MUNTU is constantly evolving. He travels the world :  (Canada, Europe, Africa...) meeting and working with many exciting people:  (Tiken Jah Fakoly, Sans Pression, Tricia Foster, Franois Grgoire (Kodiak), Biso Na Biso, Magic System, Rose kosso Erta, ZPN, Le R, Lexxus Legal etc.. Herlo Muntu has been the subject of countless discussions and made scores of appearances in both national and international media and this is just the beginning!

Countdown.

2007: First album (R&B/Hip-Hop); R-Lo. Poli-Fric, a song performed in collaboration with Tricia Foster made it high in the charts and his album got a great response from the media. 

2009: This recording rewarded him with a firm footing in the Canadian music scene.  Herlo Muntu and his track are finalists in four categories at the Trille Or Awards, competing against Damien Robitaille, Tricia Foster, Swing, Konflit Dramatik and Andrea Lindsay: (Best album of the year, best songwriter, best male artist and best music video) and, at the gala, he gave an outstanding performance on stage with the group Swing. He then began a nationwide tour and was support artist for Magic System and Biso Na Biso. It is in 2009 that he decided to leave R Leo behind in favor of Herlo Muntu.

2010: Second album (World); Le Lion des Bantous (The Bantu Lion). With this album, Herlo Muntu reveals a new musical style: Hip-Pop world is a cross between hip-hop, with a sprinkling of pop influences and folk music from around the world. The album includes several collaborations - Franois Grgoire (Kodiak), Rose Ekosso Erick Labson and others.

2011-2012: In spite of a self-imposed ''break'' in his business activities in order to devote himself to the presidential elections of the Congolese community in Canada, he wins a COCAN Award in the Best Album of the Year 2011 category and throws himself into preparing his third album, Rflexions.

2013: Third album (World); Rflexions. Tracks with a wide range of sounds, including Congolese pop, hip-hop and Latin influences. The album is the essence of Herlo Muntu. He is an artist open to other cultures and other rhythms in a bid to create his own identity through festive and unifying music.

On April 4, 2013, he launches this album to head his Canadian tour of the same name, lasting for three months and ending on July 22, 2013 at the International  Nuits d'Afrique Festival in Montreal. A week later, Herlo Muntu flies to Africa for a tour of humanitarian concerts in three countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and Angola. During this period, he was a finalist in the African Entertainment Awards in the Best Male Artist category, and is number 1 in the Canadian world music artists top 10 on Reverbnation. A few weeks later, he is 'artist of the week' on the Montreal web-radio, Passion Musique, and ''focus artist'' of the week on Radio Okapi, a radio station belonging to the United Nations.

2014: A year of expansion for Herlo Muntu who decides to launch his album in Africa.