Today we’d like to introduce you to HRM King Kufulula.
Hi HRM King , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born into a royal lineage with a story that was almost erased. Growing up, I didn’t yet know the full depth of that heritage. I simply felt a powerful and ancient call inside me. As I got older, I began studying the history of the Kongo Kingdom, the Makanda legacy, and the stories of African leaders, queens, and empires that had been removed or forgotten from mainstream history.
At the same time, I was passionate about comics, animation, and storytelling. Yet I never saw heroes who looked like us. I never saw our royalty, our brilliance, our spirituality, or our leadership represented with dignity. And I knew I didn’t want to create just a story. I wanted something real. Something connected to truth, to memory, to where I come from. That is how Zaiire was born.
This is how Isolele began. A mission to restore memory. A universe where African royalty, mythology, and futuristic imagination stand together. A place where children and adults can see themselves as heroes, leaders, innovators, and guardians of legacy.
I started with one story: Zaiire: The Prince of Kongo and the Necklace of Destiny.
We launched independently, without the support of major publishers. From there, the vision expanded into a global cultural movement that now includes comics, fashion, artwork, storytelling events, and community outreach.
Today, Isolele is more than entertainment. It is a cultural renaissance. A reminder that our greatness did not begin today. It has always been ours.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges was representation. I didn’t want to create characters who were simply “dark-skinned versions” of existing heroes. I wanted us to truly see ourselves. Our features. Our faces. Our hair. Our expressions. Our identity in its real form.
Many times, when Africa is represented, the skin is dark, but the features are still drawn to look European. I refused to repeat that. I wanted our characters to reflect the beauty of African physical identity: the nose, the eyes, the mouth, the face structure, the hair, the posture, the spirit.
This meant we had to study ourselves again. We had to honor what the world tried to erase. And we had to build characters connected to real history, real kingdoms, real memory. It was not just about creating a hero. It was about restoring a footprint.
Bringing back our image, our dignity, and our presence in the world of storytelling that was a challenge. But it was also the most powerful part of the journey.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Isolele is a cultural renaissance. A living universe that restores the memory of African royalty, mythology, and identity through storytelling, art, education, and fashion. Our mission is to return what was taken, forgotten, or rewritten and place it back at the center with dignity and excellence.
We specialize in building heroic narratives rooted in real African history while expanding them into futuristic worlds. Our flagship story, Zaiire: The Prince of Kongo and the Necklace of Destiny, introduces a hero born from truth, ancestry, and legacy not fantasy disconnected from reality. Every character we create carries the features, spirit, beauty, and identity of our people. Not just dark skin, but the full expression of African identity the face structure, the hair, the culture, the memory, the strength, the soul.
What sets us apart is intention.
We are not creating entertainment for entertainment’s sake.
We are restoring memory.
We are returning identity.
We are repairing imagination.
We create stories, fashion, community spaces, educational pathways, and global collaborations all guided by the same mission: to remind African people and the world of who we are and where we come from.
Isolele is not just a brand. It is a calling.
A flame being rekindled.
A throne being remembered.
Because greatness is not something we are searching for.
It is something we are remembering.
We are Isolele The Chosen Ones.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risk has been a part of our journey from the beginning. Not only in building a new creative universe, but in the reality of how and where our work is made. Many of our illustrators live in the Kivu region of the Congo, an area affected by ongoing conflict. Creating art there is not just a career or a passion, it is an act of courage.
We have already lost three illustrators to this war. These were artists with dreams, with talent, with families. They chose art and purpose over joining rebel groups or losing themselves to the violence around them. For many of our team members, drawing for Isolele is not just creative work. It is a lifeline. It is a way to hold on to identity, hope, and dignity in a place where those things are constantly threatened.
So when I think about risk, I don’t think about business risk or financial risk first. I think about the risk of choosing love, culture, and creation in a world that often pushes our people toward survival without meaning. The biggest risk we take is believing that our story matters enough to be told even in the face of danger.
But I also believe this:
When your purpose is rooted in truth, the risk transforms into responsibility.
Pricing:
- Zaiire: The Prince of Kongo and the Necklace of Destiny – $36.99 (Premium full-color print)
- Art Prints & Posters – $300–$50000 (depending on size and edition)
- Collector Canvas Pieces – Starting at $500+ (limited editions)
- Custom Character Portraits / Commissioned Artwork – Pricing varies by project
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.isolele.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isolelekatiopa/
Image Credits
Image Credits:
Isolele
