Music
Remmy Ongala: the Dar es Salaam bandleader who sang for the poor
Remmy Ongala, born in Congo and based in Dar es Salaam, led Orchestre Super Matimila and became one…
Congolese music
Music
Pepe Kalle: the Elephant of Zaire and his band Empire Bakuba
Pepe Kalle, a towering Congolese singer known as the Elephant of Zaire, led Empire Bakuba to fame in…
Music
Tshala Muana: the queen of mutuashi who carried Luba rhythms from Kasai to the world
Tshala Muana, born in Lubumbashi in 1958, became famous as the queen of mutuashi, a dance rhythm of…
Arts + Culture
Staff Benda Bilili: the Kinshasa street band on tricycles that conquered Cannes
Staff Benda Bilili was a Kinshasa band whose core members were disabled by polio. Their 2009 album Très…
Music
A gentle voice in a dance-floor tradition: Lokua Kanza
Lokua Kanza, born in 1958, started as a guitarist with Abeti Masikini's Les Redoutables, worked with Ray Lema…
Music
Guitar solos after every verse: how Kanda Bongo Man sped up soukous and started kwassa kwassa
Kanda Bongo Man, born in 1955 in the Congo, began singing in 1973 and found success after moving…
Arts + Culture
“Coupé Bibamba” came out in 1998. Almost three decades later, no West African wedding is complete without it
Congolese singer Awilo Longomba released the album Coupé Bibamba in 1998. Its title track, a fast soukous dance…