News
Congolese rumba on the UNESCO list: the 2021 recognition of a shared heritage
In December 2021, UNESCO added Congolese rumba to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, following…
Congolese rumba
Music
Samba Mapangala and Orchestra Virunga: Congolese rumba in Nairobi
Samba Mapangala, a Congolese singer, moved to East Africa in the 1970s and led Orchestra Virunga in Nairobi.…
Music
Papa Wendo Kolosoy: the father of Congolese rumba and the song Marie-Louise
Antoine Wendo Kolosoy, known as Papa Wendo, recorded Marie-Louise in 1948, one of the first great hits of…
Music
Zaïko Langa Langa: the 1969 Kinshasa student band that reshaped Congolese rumba
Zaïko Langa Langa was founded in Kinshasa in December 1969 by young musicians who gave Congolese rumba a…
Music
Werrason: the Wenge split, Solola Bien and the night at Bercy
When Wenge Musica split in 1997, Werrason co-founded Wenge Musica Maison Mère. Their 1999 album Solola Bien! went…
Music
The singer who sang with both Franco and Tabu Ley: Sam Mangwana
Sam Mangwana, born in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) in 1945 to Angolan parents, sang with both of Congolese rumba's…
Music
The slow soukous of tcha tcho and a sold-out Bercy: Koffi Olomidé’s long reign in Congolese music
Koffi Olomidé, born Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba in Kisangani in 1956, introduced the slower soukous style known as…
Music
From Quartier Latin to Tokooos: Fally Ipupa, the modern king of Congolese music
Fally Ipupa, born in Kinshasa in 1977, rose through Koffi Olomidé's Quartier Latin International before launching a solo…
Music
The Queen of African Rumba: how Mbilia Bel became Afrisa International’s star voice
Mbilia Bel, born Marie-Claire Mboyo Moseka in Kinshasa in 1959, joined Tabu Ley Rochereau's Afrisa International in 1981…
Arts + Culture
Tabu Ley Rochereau took Congolese rumba to the Paris Olympia in 1970. He later served in government
Tabu Ley Rochereau, one of the great voices of Congolese rumba, performed at the Olympia in Paris in…