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KOBWAKA LIBANGA
THE PAST IS THE PRESENT
THE BAOBAB THAT HAS SURVIVED MANY STORMS
MEKANISI MODERO'S DEATH REKINDLES MEMORIES OF AFRISA INTERNATIONAL
THE SOULFUL RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN MUSIC
MEKANISI MODERO DIES IN THE USA
A NEWS ANCHOR WHO ALSO SANG HIS HEART OUT
SUKUMA BIN ONGARO
THE IVORIAN REGGAE SENSATION STILL GOING STRONG
GEORGE FOMBE AKA YAHOOS
RUMBA IT IS; NOT LINGALA
M'BILIA BEL - BEYANGA LYRICS
THE GIFTED SINGER WITH STRIKING CHARM
THE DEATH OF THE MASTERPIECE
MUKABI PAINTED HIS WAY TO GLOBAL RECOGNITION
SHOW ME THE WAY BY PAPA WEMBA LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION
FROM STAGE TO PRISON TO STAGE: THE STORY OF NGUZA VIKING
THE LES MANGELEPA FAMILY IN MOURNING
KOFFI OMOMIDE MADE HONORARY CITIZEN OF THE COMMUNE COCODY
SHILINGI YAUA LYRICS BY SIMBA WANYIKA
KOBWAKA LIBANGA
THE PAST IS THE PRESENT
THE BAOBAB THAT HAS SURVIVED MANY STORMS
MEKANISI MODERO'S DEATH REKINDLES MEMORIES OF AFRISA INTERNATIONAL
THE SOULFUL RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN MUSIC
MEKANISI MODERO DIES IN THE USA
A NEWS ANCHOR WHO ALSO SANG HIS HEART OUT
SUKUMA BIN ONGARO
THE IVORIAN REGGAE SENSATION STILL GOING STRONG
GEORGE FOMBE AKA YAHOOS
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Jabulani Library
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THE KENYAN SOUKOUS GUITARIST - (ROLAND ISESE)
July 29, 2025 - 05:57 PM
The year was 1991, and the venue was Bomas of Kenya. It was during the peak of the Soukous craze, and the crowd had gathered to enjoy the best of the Aurlus Mabele-led group Loketo, which featured the lethal soloist Diblo Dibala, partly nicknamed "The Machine Gun" owing to his high-tempo guitar skills. But it was a local boy, Roland Isese, who stole the show. He had taken the stage with the Ulinzi Band, a military ensemble under the leadership of Laban Ochuka, which had been tasked with opening the concert. The band made a bold attempt at the hit song "Extra Ball," and Isese was impressed. His fingers maneuvered the fretboard with the speed of a bullet and the precision of a surgeon. He......
WHAT IF FRANCO LUAMBO WAS ALIVE?
July 14, 2025 - 08:41 PM
Franco Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, the brightest star in the constellation that is Congolese music, was born on July 6, 1938. Were he alive today, he would be celebrating his 87th birthday. One cannot help but wonder—had death not stolen this immense talent from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the land of musical gods, where would he be today? Eighty-seven years is a long time. Most likely, he would have long retired. That’s a whole 27 years past the official retirement age in Kenya and many other countries. It is generally accepted that by age 60, age has taken its toll, and most people are well beyond their peak productivity. However, in music, some players stay in the game much......
ELVIS LOLA BROUGHT A FAMILY TRADITION TO NAIROBI
May 13, 2025 - 04:56 PM
A dozen men and women on a raised podium, all clothed in dazzling white suits, with the stage lights complementing the spectacle by giving it a charming finish, create an immediate impression of what to expect from the band. If elegance were the sole parameter to gauge a band's greatness, no band in Nairobi would match Afro Sounds Band, headed by Elvis Lola. On a typical Saturday evening at Club Paradiso, along Jogoo Road, Elvis and his team converge to give their fans a taste of Congolese rumba. It is only when the solo guitarist strums the first chord that one's attention shifts from the sapeur-like elegance to their core business, music. Just like many typical Congolese bands, among the......
A STORY OF PASSION & RESSILIENCE
March 17, 2025 - 06:42 AM
The benefits of a palm tree are numerous. These are captured in one of the poems by Bokhoeit Amana, titled "Mti Mle." It was Awillo Mike’s love for poetry that endeared him to the poet’s works, and when the time came for him and his fellow founders of Jammazi to name their band, he suggested the name. "Mnazi" is a palm tree. It yields a juicy fruit, which is very edible and nutritious. It also carries a sap that can be fermented into palm wine, popularly known as mnazi along the Kenyan Coast. Its leaves offer a classic roofing material, and its hollow trunk can be used to make furniture, build structures, etc. The plant is very resourceful, and that’s exactly what the......
WHAT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL CONGOLESE MUSIC STYLE.
March 12, 2025 - 08:00 PM
WHAT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL CONGOLESE MUSIC STYLE. The recent trend of increasingly programmed music over live instrumentation is because it's cheaper to record and release. Half the battle of making music today is done when you can program percussions, horn sections, and synths on the keyboard. Where back in the day, you had to factor in whether live horns would sync well with the guitars, keyboards, and drums. This means that music composition was the foundation of song creation, as opposed to improvising melodies on a keyboard or guitar partition and then stretching them out into songs. In order to conserve cost, rehearsals were constant and music compositions of some of our......
THE GOLDEN VOICE OF AFRICA
February 22, 2025 - 02:00 PM
CELEBRATING SAM MANGWANA'S IMPACT ON MUSIC When the 'Shakespeare of African music,' Simaro Lutumba, was asked which vocalist he felt delivered his poems best, he unequivocally stated that it was Mangwana. Indeed, Mangwana brought to life songs like "Ebale Ya Zaire", "Mabele", and "Faute Ya Commercant" in a way that captivated listeners. While Simaro had composed several songs prior, it was these two 1973 tracks that helped him gain recognition as an astute poet, with lyrics that were rich with philosophical interpretations.The fact that Simaro regarded Mangwana as the greatest, despite working with other vocalists like Josky Kiambukuta, Vicky Longomba, Youlou Mabiala, Djo Mpoyi, Malage De......
ATOMIC, THE BOMB MEANT TO FLATTEN JAMHURI JAZZ
February 12, 2025 - 07:00 PM
Just like deprivation, rivalry begets creativity. Some of the most popular rumba songs, ie 'mokolo tonga aka taileur' of Franco or 'Jela' of Ochieng Kabasele, were composed while the musicians were incarcerated at Makala prison In Kinshasa and King'ong'o Prison in Kenya, respectively. The same can be said of rivalry. At peak of their careers, Tabuley and Luambo oftentimes sought to outdo each other and this urge worked wonders in pushing creativity a notch higher. When Tabuley and Nico disagreed over the management of African Fiesta Original, the altercation led to the creation of two of the finest bands: African Fiesta Sukisa and its sibling, African Fiesta National, which......
JOHNY BOKELO: A SCION OF A MUSICALLY RICH FAMILY
February 03, 2025 - 04:33 PM
Are musicians born or made? Any attempt to Respond to this question in the context of Congolese rumba; is likely to land you at the doorstep of the Isenge family. This is for the reason that this is easily the largest musical family in the history of the genre. The Isenge octad, comprising eight musical superstars, compares well and even surpasses "The Jackson’s five" of the USA, Mushrooms quintet, sons of Kaloleni Giriama in Kenya, and even the six musical children of Dorcas, popularly known as Bana Kadori, of Kenyan benga, whose patriarch was Ochieng’ Kabaselle. For the Jacksons, the youngest star shone the brightest, while for Mushrooms and the Kadori, it was the eldest, but......
THE MUTUASHI QUEEN'S REIGN EXTENDS BEYOND HER DEATH
January 23, 2025 - 09:15 AM
It has been two years since the Queen of Mutuashi, Tshala Muana, breathed her last in a hospital in Kinshasa, where she had been admitted. Her death marked the end of an illustrious career that lasted three decades and saw her become a celebrity not just in her home country, the DRC, but across the continent. Although DRC has had a galaxy of women musicians, from the days of Pauline Lisanga at Loningisa studios in 1952 to the era of Marcel Ebibya, Lucy Eyenga, and the generation of Mbilia Bell, and even those who came after her, like Cindy Le Coeur, Tshala Muana's contribution to Congolese music stands out for several reasons. She is the face of Mutwashi. She did not invent the dance, but......
ZAIKO LANGA LANGA
January 15, 2025 - 03:55 AM
Today, we take our spades and dig into the rich Biography of Zaiko Langa Langa. This is an Innovative Congolese rumba band, formed in 1970. Its most prolific members included:Michel Anto "Evoloko" (born Kinshasa, May 20, 1954; vocal), Matima Kinuani (born Sona Bata, Congo-Kinshasa, Apr. 14, 1951; died Liege, Belgium, May 29, 1996; guitar), Félix Manuwaku Waku (born Kinshasa, Aug. 19, 1954; guitar), Siméon Mavuela Somo (born Congo-Kinshasa; vocal), Meridjo Belobi (born Congo-Kinshasa; traps), D.V. Moanda (born Congo-Kinshasa, 1947; died Kinshasa, Jan. 9, 1984; founder), Muaka Mbeka "Bapius" (born Boma, Congo-Kinshasa, Feb. 27, 1951; bass), Nyoka Longo "Jossart" (born......
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