Madcon

Madcon
Wolde-Mariam (left) and Baqwa in May 2010
Background information
Origin	Oslo, Norway
Genres	Electropop, dance-pop, hip hop, Eurodance
Instruments	Singing, rapping
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Cosmos, Columbia, Sony Music Nasty Kutt, Bonnier Amigo Music Norway AS, RCA Records, Universal Republic, Warner Music, Just Music
Website	Madcon official website
Members	Tshawe Baqwa Yosef Wolde-Mariam

Madcon is a Norwegian musical duo formed in 1992 by Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa. To date, they have released six albums.

Yosef Wolde-Mariam (born on 4 August 1978) is a Norwegian TV presenter and a rapper.

Wolde-Mariam was born in Norway to parents originating from Ethiopia and Eritrea. He's a Norwegian presenter and one half of the rap duo Madcon.

He grew up in Grefsen (part of Oslo) with his mother residing later variously in Røyken, Grønland Grünerløkka and Bekkelaget, all Oslo suburbs. In 2012, he was a mentor on the Norwegian version of The Voice known as The Voice – Norges beste stemme broadcast on the Norwegian television station TV 2.

Tshawe Baqwa (born on 6 January 1980) is a Norwegian rapper and presenter of South African parents.

Baqwa was born in Germany and moved to Norway when he was just 6 months old. He moved to South Africa with his parents when he was 14 years old, eventually returning to Norway for a musical career.

Besides him being one half of the Norwegian duo Madcon, he took part and won the third season of the Norwegian dance competition Skal vi danse (meaning Shall we dance). Although Tshawe got lesser points from the judges who favoured the other finalist Mona Grudt, he won by public vote over Grudt. He also appeared as a voice over artist in Rio, a 20th Century Fox film, playing the character of Nico.

Madcon released their first single, "God Forgive Me" in 2000 (Virgin Records), but their first commercial breakthrough came with the hit single "Barcelona" in 2002 with long-time collaborators Paperboys (on the Bonnier Amigo record label). In 2004, Madcon released their first official album It's All A Madcon (AA-Recordings/Bonnier Amigo), for which they won a Norwegian Grammy and several other awards. In 2005, Madcon were TV personalities on the Nordic music channel The Voice, while working on their music in the studio. The show "The Voice of Madcon", a behind-the-scenes of the duo, was a great success for both Madcon and the network.

In autumn 2007, Baqwa was invited to take part in the popular reality television program Skal vi danse?, the Norwegian version of Strictly Come Dancing eventually winning that year's series.