TikTok-Fueled Biama Battles Draw 400 in Abidjan, Reviving Ivorian Pop Culture
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 4
TikTok-Fueled Biama Battles Draw 400 in Abidjan, Reviving Ivorian Pop Culture
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 4
Summary
About 400 spectators packed a square in Abidjan’s Yopougon-Selmer district as under-25 dancers battled to biama, a high-speed offshoot of coupé-décalé that is reshaping local street culture.
Post-pandemic TikTok dance challenges pushed biama into the mainstream, turning acrobatic, improvisational routines into a youth phenomenon embraced by self-styled biamaseurs.
Yopougon remains the movement’s engine: producer Cédric Kouamé called biama “coupé-décalé 2.0,” while 15-year-old dancer Sauce Graine said the goal is to move it beyond a neighborhood scene.
The rise comes as Côte d’Ivoire’s pop scene rebuilds after DJ Arafat’s 2019 death, with biama and maïmouna leading a new generation of artists and dancers despite critics dismissing it as street music.