Lou Bega

David Lubega, known by the stage name Lou Bega, was born on 13 April 1975 in Munich, Germany. A singer, songwriter and musician, he is of Italian descent through his mother and Ugandan through his father. He is also known by the alias Moe D. Cay and by various name variants such as Balemezi Lubega, Louie Bega, David Lubega and Lou Vega.

His style blends mambo, pop, dance and Latin influences. His biggest hit, Mambo No. 5 (1999), is a cover of the 1952 instrumental by Perez Prado to which he added new lyrics and extensively sampled the original; the single became an instant worldwide success, reaching the top 5 in Europe and the United States and becoming a stadium anthem at sporting events. It was also used by the British channel Channel 4 for its test cricket coverage between 1999 and 2005.

The album containing the hit, A Little Bit Of Mambo, was certified triple platinum by the RIAA in December 1999 and sold nearly 4 million copies in the United States. Other hits from that album include 1+1=2, I Got a Girl and Tricky.

He continued his career with the album Ladies And Gentlemen in 2001 and collaborated with Compay Segundo on the song Baby Keep Smiling. His third studio album, Lounatic, was released at the end of 2005, accompanied by videos for You wanna be Americano and Bachata.

The artist spent part of his adolescence in Miami; his multicultural background influences his music. Anecdotally, Lou Bega appears as one of the playable characters in the video game Tropico, as part of a licensing agreement that also integrated one of his songs into the German version of the game.