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…
Kinshasa
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
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…
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
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
More than 600 songs and a UNESCO listing for his genre: Franco and the Congolese rumba
Franco Luambo Makiadi led TPOK Jazz for almost three decades and recorded more than 600 songs before his…