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Frederic Desire Ehui was born on March 17th, 1962 in Grand-Bassam, a coastal town west of Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast. His father, a sales representative in a local business, was an amateur accordionist and his mother often sang in the choir of her local Catholic Church. Both of his parents were also members of several local groups. It was therefore quite natural that Frederic started singing in church around the age of nine and continued to do so until he was sixteen.In junior high, Frederic became friend with a member of Pace, the school band. By accompanying him to so many rehearsals, Frederic ended up replacing one of the singers and trying out the percussion instruments. He quickly became a distinguished member of the band. At the same time he joined other small bands including Lynx or Group. But Pace was growing in popularity and in 1978 he received the Podium Award, a highly coveted musical distinction in the Ivory Coast. Arguments between old and new members as to how the prize money was to be split, led to the break up of the band.For Frederic, now known as Meiway, this break up was almost a blessing. He was now able to form his own group Les Genitaux or Genitos. Success was in the cards for the eight band members who obtained the very same Podium Award in 1981. Les Genitaux played throughout the country doing tours, dances, concerts, and parties. Moreover, the band plays more and more compositions written by Meiway.