Jean-Philippe Marthély

The story so far.

Written and edited by Smokiller

Jean-Philippe Marthély, known as Pipo, is a singer from Martinique and one of the lead voices of Kassav'. A France Télévisions press note for the Martinique La 1ère programme Ziétaj' gives his birth date as 11 September 1958 and traces his start to the group Opération 78, where he sang lead and backing vocals from 1978 before joining Kassav' in 1981. On stage and in the studio he formed a duo with Patrick Saint-Éloi, and the pair released the album Ou Pa Ka Sav in 1985. That same year his single "Bèl Krèati" was credited with marking the birth of zouk love. His solo work includes Ticoq and Touloulou, followed by Si sé taw (1993), O Peyi (1998), Pip Djouk (2002), Koulé Lanmou (2006) and Kouté (2012). The 2015 collection Pipo gathered his best known songs, and he issued the single "Azipipo" in 2023. Kassav's official channel also carries his clip "Coco Bo Nini".