[13][14][8] Through his music and stage performances, he introduced the slower style of soukous known as tcha tcho[15][16] and popularized a flamboyant fashion subculture called La Sape, alongside Papa Wemba.

[14][19][20] In 1986, he established the group Quartier Latin International, which accompanied him onstage and on his albums since 1992, serving as a launching pad for emerging artists, including Fally Ipupa, Jipson Butukondolo, Deo Brondo, Montana Kamenga, Bouro Mpela, Ferré Gola, Marie-Paul Kambulu, Eldorado Claude, Djuna Fa Makengele, Soleil Wanga, Laudy Demingongo Plus-Plus, Éric Tutsi, among others.

[16] During school holidays in the mid-1970s, Koffi returned to Kinshasa and began composing lyrics for various artists in the Zairean music scene, earning the sobriquet "the most famous student in Zaire" and seizing the attention of Papa Wemba, who had recently departed from Yoka Lokole and was actively engaged as a lyricist.

[17] Ngounda received mixed reviews, and Koffi began working on his second studio album, Lady Bo, which was released in 1984 and featured King Kester Emeneya as a guest artist.

[63] Koffi wrote and composed all tracks and collaborated with other musicians, including Popolipo on bass and electric guitars, Meridjo Belobi on drums, and Manzeku Djerba on percussion, along with vocalists Carlyto Lassa, Debaba, and Général Defao.

[67][68] The West Africa Publishing Company described Koffi's style as "an irresistible concoction"[69] while American music journalist Robert Christgau referred to it as floating light synthesizers on the most subtle Kinshasa–Paris rhythms.

To support the record, Koffi embarked on a continent-wide tour and was subsequently invited to perform at Gabon's Palais du bord de mer by President Omar Bongo Ondimba.

[37][8] In December 1994, Koffi won two consecutive African Music Awards at the Palais des Congrès at the Hotel Ivoire in Ivory Coast, for "Best Male Singer" and "Best Video Clip".

[37] Brazzaville's weekly newspaper La Semaine Africaine noted that during this period, his mounting success "put the great figures of Zairian music to shame" and earned him the moniker "Rambo".

[103] Driven by producer Ngoyarto's suggestion, Koffi released his first compilation album, N'djoli, Ba La Joie 78–79, featuring his early songs with Papa Wemba, King Kester Emeneya, and Félix Manuaku Waku.

[121][122][123] On 19 February 2000, Koffi became the first African solo artist to perform at a sold-out Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (now Accor Arena), with 17,000 tickets sold solely through word-of-mouth promotion.

"Eternellement" was written by Fally Ipupa, "Au Secours" by Binda Bass, "Dulcinée" by Ezenge Sendanyoye and Koffi, "Kompressor" by Mamale Manzenza Zola, "Number Two" by Champion Esthétique Muanza, "Pragmatisme" by Lola Muana, "Aquarelle" by Jordan Kusa, "Arche De Noé" by Felly Tyson, "Cotisation" by Nseka Kudifelela, "Mea Culpa" by Ridens Makosso, and "Moprete Lendila" by Gibson Butukondolo.

Force de Frappe swiftly secured a prominent position on the music charts of major radio and TV channels and was followed by a tour in West Africa, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Paris.

[137][138] It contains 16 tracks and features Fally Ipupa's compositions "Ko-Ko-Ko-Ko", Fofo le Collégien's "Inch'Allah", Bouro Mpela's "Calvaire", Soleil Wanga's "Drapeau Blanc", Jipson Butukondolo's "Biblia", Lola Muana's "Tendrement", Deo Brondo's "Tous Pepele", and Montana Kamenga's "Love Story", among others.

In an interview with the Beninese daily newspaper Fraternité, Koffi explained that the title Monde Arabe is a "Koffian" expression, meaning "eel under rock", and clarified that it "has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein or Bin Laden.

[149] On 12 February 2005, Koffi took part in a Valentine's Day celebration with Quartier Latin at Maïsha Park in Kinshasa, also inviting musicians Tshala Muana and Madilu System onstage.

Koffi later teamed up with Youssou N'Dour on the single "Festival" and then toured Paris with various artists who had contributed to the album, such as Lokua Kanza, Olivier Tshimanga, Guillain Tamba, Mbetenge Claude Francois, Philippe Guez, Flavien Makabi, Binda Bass Simbu, and others.

[162][163] It heavily blended tcha tcho and Congolese rumba, including on songs like "Ikea", "Sixième Chantier", "BB Goût", "l'amour n'existe pas", "Plat Favori", "Soupou", "Ninelle", "Grand Prêtre Mère", "Lovemycine", and "Katagourouma".

[172] Out of the album's 14 tracks, only six received the commission's approval for television broadcast, including "Grand Prêtre Mère", dedicated to Koffi's wife, along with "BB Goût", "Ikea", "Sixième Chantier", "Salopette", and "Festival".

[172] In March 2009, Koffi participated in the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Senegal, alongside Manu Dibango, Issa Hayatou, Aïcha Koné, Salif Keita, Akon, Pape Diouf, and Sepp Blatter.

[217] On 30 November, Koffi guest-performed on Diamond Platnumz's ndombolo-inspired single "Waah", which rapidly garnered unprecedented acclaim by becoming the first Sub-Saharan African song to amass two million views on YouTube within 24 hours.

[231] On 17 March 2022, he collaborated with Félix Wazekwa, Flaety W. Manuke, Lokua Kanza, Kadiyoyo, JB Mpiana, Barbara Kanam, Cindy Le Cœur, Héritier Watanabe, Laetitia Lokua, Adolphe Dominguez, Werrason, Lemiran LEM, Kristy Diamond, Ferré Gola, and Innoss'B on "Leopards Fimbu International", a song supporting the DR Congo national football team, "Les Léopards", during the 2022 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers play-off phase.

[249][250][229] During his guest appearance on the political forum Bosolo Na Politiki on YouTube in October 2023, Koffi revealed that he had encountered difficulties in procuring a producer for Légende Millénium in Paris due to adverse publicity from another Congolese artist regarding his criminal past, which precipitated his contractual engagement with Goldman Music in exchange for financial backing.

[13][14][8] Renowned for his avant-garde vocal delivery—an explosive, deep-throated baritone with an offbeat cadence—Koffi is equally celebrated for his flamboyant stage persona, often embodying the atalaku role, a dynamic hype man who energizes audiences during instrumental sebene segments.

His collaboration with Africando on the 2000 single "Mopao", from the album Betece, explored salsa,[256] while his reinterpretation of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je t'aime... moi non plus" with Ivorian singer Nayanka Bell introduced zouk into his repertoire.

[146][145] Meanwhile, albums such as Bord Ezanga Kombo reflected his signature blend of tchatcho and Congolese rumba, with the tracks like "Ikea", "Sixième Chantier", "BB Goût", "l'amour n'existe pas", "Plat Favori", "Soupou", "Ninelle", "Grand Prêtre Mère", "Lovemycine", and "Katagourouma".

On 6 July 2024, during an appearance on the program Le Panier, the Morning Show, hosted by journalist Jessy Kabasele Mbuyi at Radio-Télévision nationale congolaise (RTNC), Koffi made contentious statements regarding the ongoing Kivu conflict in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Rwandan-backed M23 rebels and Congolese government forces.

[318] In July 2021, he became an executive member of the Alliance des Forces Démocratiques du Congo (AFDC), a political party led by the president of the Senate, Modeste Bahati Lukwebo.

[319][318][320] On 9 February 2022, Tshisekedi appointed Koffi as a cultural ambassador of the nation with a diplomatic passport, making him the third Congolese solo musical artist to receive this honor, after Maître Gim and Dadju.

[334][335] He has helped boost the careers of numerous up-and-coming artists, some of whom originally played in his Quartier Latin ensemble and later went solo, such as Fele Mudogo, Sam Tshintu, Suzuki Luzubu 4x4, Soleil Wanga, Bouro Mpela, Fally Ipupa, Montana Kamenga, and Ferré Gola.