Natty Gong, whose real name is Benoit Girodeau, is an artist from Pointe-aux-Sables, Mauritius. The thirty-three-year-old former top-level triathlete has represented Mauritius in international competitions and has won numerous titles. After training as a designer, he worked for advertising agencies for a number of years before turning to teaching Design, Visual Arts and Technology. He is now a private fitness and self-defence coach as well as an instructor of Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art;
He is passionate about nature, hiking, surfing and diving. Well-known in the Indian Ocean and considered to be part of the new generation of reggae-dancehall in Mauritius, he was inspired from an early age by Damian Marley, Capleton, Sizzla Kalonji and Anthony B, as well as French Caribbean artists such as Yaniss Odua, Kaf Malbar and Raggasonic. He began to take a more serious interest in music after meeting his sidekick Manna’C in 2010, with whom he began recording singles and compilations. Natty Gong then had the opportunity to support several international artists who performed in Mauritius. From 2017, he devoted himself full-time to his music after getting his first million views on YouTube. His music continues to evolve and the clips posted on his YouTube channel are increasingly artistic. 2018 was an eventful year as he had the opportunity to go on tour in the Seychelles to support Ras Ricky, the little prince of Indian Ocean reggae-dancehall. He also performed twice in Paris, France, as part of a Mauritian festival, and gave a concert in Brussels, Belgium, and Toronto, Canada. These concerts abroad enabled him to develop and return to Mauritius enriched by knowledge and experience. He also travelled to Reunion Island, from where he returned with a featuring with Kaf Malbar (one of his inspirations) broadcast on the DadaHouse channel. In 2019, the release of his first EP available on all legal streaming and download platforms compiling all his released singles with a video clip takes him on a European tour where he has the opportunity to perform in Lausanne and Geneva for the opening of Cali P in Switzerland, Strasbourg and Paris in France, Catania-Sicily in Italy, at the Mauritian Open Festival in London in front of an incredible crowd of 15,000 people, which was the fulfilment of one of his dreams as an artist since his early days in music, and finally ending the tour with a showcase in Dublin in Ireland for his fans. He was also invited by Yaniss Odua to Thonon-les-Bains in France for a surprise appearance and a short freestyle on stage as a guest, which will remain one of the best memories of his career. These three months were an extraordinary experience as Natty Gong not only travelled all over Europe to perform in a different city and country each week, but also returned home with a dubplate freestyle video shot in a renowned studio in Geneva for Little Lion Sound, owner of a very famous label called Evidence Music, a featuring with French artist Bazil with a video shot in Paris, and another in London for the second single from his first official album which was released on 10 October 2020. For bookings, contact: nattygong@live.com
