Who was Antoine Dougb? Even the most dedicated crate-digger might go their whole life without stumbling across any of the three LPs he released in the late 1970s and early 80s.
Yet all the musicians who happened to cross paths with him remember him with a mixture of admiration and fear; for Antoine Dougb was not merely one of the most inventive songwriters to emerge from the fertile music scene of Cotonou, but also a powerful Vodn initiate whose close connection to the spirit world allowed him to refer to himself as the Devils prime minister.

As a young man he moved from Abomey to Cotonou, a city that had established itself as one of the centres of the West African music scene.
There he encountered most of the popular styles of African and Latin music and, like many of his generation, found himself drawn to Cuban son and rumba.
Although he was particularly attracted to Congolese rhythms, it was his fascination with the traditional rhythms of Beninespecially those associated with Vodn ceremoniesthat allowed Dougb to take his music in directions far removed from anything happening in the Congo.

Early in his career, Dougb was known for intimidating and threatening musicians if they didnt play to his liking, and when the time came to find a band willing to record with him, he struggled.
But according to Mlom Clment, founder of the mighty Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, Dougb posed no problem for them, since the bands drummer, Yehouessi Leopold, and bassist, Bentho Gustave, were themselves initiated into Vodn and Dougb never dared to challenge them.

Dougb was unique among the bands external collaborators in that he neither sang nor performed any of the main instrumental parts.
It has been suggested that his involvement with Vodnin which singing plays a crucial role in important ritualseffectively prohibited him from using his voice for anything as frivolous as a popular song.
Instead he provided his songs to Melome Clment, who arranged them for the band; most of the vocals were handled by Lohento Eskill and Amoussou William.

Whether driven by the thrill of the music or by fear of crossing the Devils prime minister, Dougbs records all feature Orchestre Poly-Rythmo playing at the absolute height of their considerable powers.

Dougb released three LPs and a handful of singles under his own name, the first, which appeared in 1977 on Disques Tropiques.
And although Dougb achieved moderate success with the early single Nounignon Ma Kpon Midji, his other records never quite found the audience they deserved, and by the early eighties he had vanished from the music scene.

Illness struck in 1992, prompting a move to Parakou in northern Benin, where he lived and worked for four more years.
Antoine Dougb died of cirrhosis of the liver on 20 September 1996, while on holiday in his former home of Cotonouleaving behind a small but extraordinary body of work, and a legacy still wrapped in mystery.