Hermas Zopoula

Multi-talented Afro-pop musician Hermas Zopoula was born the youngest of 36 siblings in the tiny village of Yoro in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Growing up, Zopoula listened to Malian singer Salif Keita, Afro-pop legend Thomas Mapfumo, and reggae icons Bob Marley and Lucky Dube, all of whom cast a long shadow on his two-disc Asthmatic Kitty debut, Espoir. Recorded in a government studio as well as in his own backyard, Espoir spans four different languages and just as many genres, blending traditional African instrumentation with modern arrangements. Zopoula, who was also the proprietor of an Internet cafe, a psalmist, an orphanage volunteer, and a fierce moped enthusiast, worked as a translator for Air Burkina in the capital city of Ouagadougou.