Born in the Lékié region of Cameroon, Sally Nyolo left her homeland at the age of 13 to settle in Paris where she has lived since. Sally built up her professional experience from 1982, first as a backing-singer working with numerous French or African artists, and composing music for radio and cinema.

In 1993, Sally joined the group Zap Mama for their world tour. With Zap Mama she recorded the album Sabsylma, and two live records (in Japan, and at Montreux).

In 1996, Sally Nyolo recorded her first solo album, entitled Tribu (Tribe), published by the Lusafrica Label. The album, awarded by Radio France Internationale, became a worldwide success, selling 300'000 copies.

After several other albums - Multiculti (1998), Beti (2000), Zaïone (2002) - Sally Nyolo finally returned to her native Cameroon, where she set up a studio, in the intention to explore and develop the local music scene. This effort resulted in the album Studio Cameroon, published in 2006 by World Music Network.