Inna Bocoum, also known as Inna Modja, is a Malian-French singer and model born on May 19, 1984, in Bamako, Mali, to a Fula family as the sixth of seven children.
Growing up, Inna was exposed to a variety of music genres by her parents, who played records by artists such as Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Otis Redding, and Sarah Vaughan at home. Her older siblings also introduced her to Thrash Punk, '80/'90s Rap, Heavy Metal, Blues, Soul, and Disco.
As a teenager, Inna alternated between Hard Rock and love songs, and regularly visited her neighbor, Salif Keita, who invited her to join the Rail Band of Bamako, a group of older men who played Bossa Nova and Jazz.
Inna speaks out against female genital mutilation, as she and her four sisters were circumcised without their parents' approval. She has also had reconstructive surgery and is outspoken against violence against women.
She has learned to adapt to different rhythms, including Swing and Disco, and has settled on a Pop and Soul sound. After appearing on a Fête de la Musique special TV show, Inna opened for Sliimy on several of his shows and released her first single, "Mister H," which is included on her first album "Everyday is a New World."
Inna made a comeback in June 2011 with her new single "French Cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)," which quickly became one of the biggest Summer hits of 2011 in France and went No. 4 on the SNEP French Singles Chart.
She followed this success with "La Fille du Lido," the second single off her second album "Love Revolution," which was released on November 7. Inna participated in the annual Téléthon, which benefits the French Association Against Myopathies.
The music video for the third single, "I Am Smiling," was entirely made from videos from her fans. Inna contributed a cover of "Souris Puisque C'est Grave" on Alain Chamfort's cover album Elles & Lui and lent her voice to the charity single "Je Reprends Ma Route" to benefit the association "Les Voix de l'enfant."
In 2018, Inna was part of the re-imagining of Claude Bolling's Les Parisiennes at Laurent Ruquier's inspiration.
