Pierre Kwenders

Afro-Canadian Pierre Kwenders (given name José Louis Modabi) is a singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ whose widely accessible yet adventurous music is a rainbow-colored umbrella melding Congolese rhumba, R&B, pop, rock, gospel, and much more. His stage name is actually his maternal grandfather's, whom he'd never met (he passed when Kwenders' mother was 12). His influence loomed large, however, through stories from his maternally run household. (Offstage he goes by his given name.) Kwenders emigrated from Kinshasa to Montreal with his mother in 2001; he was 16. Upon arriving ...