Kanodou is a ragga, salsa, and rap artist born in Dakar in 1971 from a Cape Verdean mother and Senegalese father. Kanodou was a dancer in various troupes, participated in many choreographed dances, and was in the music video by Youssou N'Dour, Dem Dia Ba, and many others. He arrived in Belgium at the age of 24, his head full of ambition and a wild desire to work in the arts. After various jobs in lounge bars in the European capital, he was noticed by modeling agencies and got the chance to start parading in fashion shows for Armani, specifically in advertisement photo shoots. During this period he wrote his first compositions in a personal style: rap in Wolof, the national language of Senegal.