Belgian-Congolese singer Lous and the Yakuza in Louis Vuitton black jacket.

Marie-Pierra Kakoma known professionally as Lous and the Yakuza, is a Congolese-Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter, model, and artist. Carine Roitfeld styles Lous in an all Louis Vuitton fashion story lensed by Hunter & Gatti [IG] for the March 25th issue of Madame Figaro France.

Describing the artist after the debut of her 2020 album ‘Gore’, Geneva Abdul wrote:

With words sung and rapped in French, Lous and the Yakuza feels like a distinctly globalized project, interweaving Kakoma’s Belgian-Congolese-Rwandan background with eclectic influences including politics past and present, manga comics, Mozart and Whitney Houston.

Lous Is Soul for a Child of War

As for her name Lous, it’s an anagram of soul, the music of the soul, explains the richly-endowed talent in a Madame Figaro story that accompanies her Louis Vuitton fashion images.

At 25, she's an old soul in a young woman's body, the daughter of two doctors a Rwandan mother and a Congolese father, both doctors engaged in humanitarian work. Lous herself is focused on opening a medical clinic in Rwanda, following in the footsteps of her mother’s status as a pediatrician.

Both of Lous’ parents were imprisoned during the the second Congo war in 1998.

Lous cannot speak of all the tribes in her ancestry, because they are at war with each other. The gender-fluid music activist acknowledges being part of the Kalwena ethnic group as expressed in Swahili.

Tribute to Amanda

In a very moving paragraph of her Madame Figaro interview, Lous speaks to her translation of Amanda Gorman’s book ‘The Hill We Climb’. Gorman recited the original poem created for US president Joe Biden’s graduation. Gorman wrote: "We will make this wounded world a marvelous world." — a narrative that inspires so many of us, no matter the color of our skin.

Being a Louis Vuitton Muse

Translated: “The story that I have woven with Louis Vuitton was born from my simple and sweet encounter with the greatest designer that I had the opportunity to meet, Nicolas Ghesquière. I appreciated the risk he took by offering me to be muse when I was not yet known. It is an extraordinary prestige for me to have closed two shows for Louis Vuitton. I like the values of this house and the way it respects women.”