France, March 7 -- It was third time lucky for 28-year-old Guinean singer and dancer Queen Rima, who won the 2025 RFI Discovery Prize, a competition open to budding musicians from Africa.

Queen Rima (born Born Marie Tolno) is considered one of the pioneers of dancehall in her native Guinea Conakry, a style that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s in Jamaica before taking the world by storm.

She was a finalist in the RFI Prix decouvertes (discovery prize) in 2022 and 2023, and her determination to win the 2025 crown impressed the jury,chaired by Benin's Angelique Kidjo.

"If we give her the chance to have a career and we surround her well, she can have a long career. She can surprise us," Kidjo said at the prize ceremony on 17 February.

"She...