Héritier Watanabe

Héritier Bondongo Kabeya (born 29 August 1982), known professionally as Héritier Watanabe or simply Héritier Wata, is a Congolese singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, and bandleader. He is the founder of the Kinshasa-based orchestra Team Wata. An influential figure in fifth-generation Congolese rumba, Bondongo began singing at the age of 10 and soon joined JB Mpiana's Wenge BCBG for practice and public appearances, seeking admittance but was eventually rejected.

Bondongo gained widespread recognition after joining Werrason's Wenge Musica Maison Mère in 2001, where he co-wrote and sang on several of the band's most breakout songs, including "J'en ai assez" (2002), "Nostalgie" (2002), "Demi-Tour" (2005), "Simeon" (2006), "Confession Intime" (2008), "Sol De Mi Amor" (2008), "Par Amour" (2009), "Remise et reprise" (2011), "Le prince de la ville" (2011), "Amour vrai" (2014), and "Kimberny meilleur choix" (2014).

In 2015, Bondongo signed with Obouo Music and Because Music for his debut solo studio album, Carrière d'honneur - Retirada, which premiered the following year. His second album, Mi-ange mi-démon, released as a double-disc set, debuted with Tout simplement moi (Mi-Ange) on 18 December 2020, followed by Tout simplement moi (Mi-démon) on 26 February 2021. Bondongo's third album, Chemin de la gloire, came out on 15 March 2024, garnering 31,000 streams on Boomplay and climbing to 38th place on iTunes France's Top 50 albums.