01 BAKWETU - PAPA WEMBA
02 ANNE MARIA - PAPHELLY NGANGA
03 MOLANGI YA MALASI - ROCHEREAU & AFRICAN FIESTA
04 MUKALA - ROCHEREAU & AFRICAN FIESTA
05 SADI NABOYI MASUMU - DR. NICO & AFRICAN FIESTA SUKISA
06 TU M'AS DECU CHOUCHOU - DR. NICO & AFRICAN FIESTA SUKISA
07 UPOSA/LISAPO - ZAIKO LANGA LANGA
08 AH NGAI MATINDA - VERKYS & L'ORCHESTRE VEVE
09 CHACUN POUR SOI - FRANCO & TP OK JAZZ
10 ZELA NGAI NASALA - FESTIVAL DE MAQUISARDS
11 GUYGUY MADIMBA - PEPE KALLE & EMPIRE BAKUBA
12 ZING ZONG - KANDA BONGO MAN
13 BEA - FRANCO & TP OK JAZZ
14 BINA NA NGAI NA RESPECT - FRANCO & TP OK JAZZ
01 BAKWETU (PAPA WEMBA) 02 FINGA MAMA MUNU 03 MATATA YA MWASI NA MOBALI 04 MOBALI MALAMU 05 NALOBI NGA RIEN 06 MOUZI 07 BOMA L'HEURE 08 EBALE YA ZAIRE 09 RADIO TROTTOIR 10 TRES IMPOLI 11 KABASSELE IN MEMEMORIUM 12 C'EST DUR LA VIE 13 MARIO III 14 KINSIONA
Tune into www.RADIOTRIOMPHE.com NOW (10pm Est NY Time)! Special Franco Tribute Episode. Host, Guy is on a cruise ship right now living it up! But it's ok 'cause we're going to keep it Hot for you wherever you are even if you're not on the beach. Tambour d'Afrique thanks you for listening...
01 PAPA WEMBA - BAKWETU (THEME) 02 MARIO (LIVE) 03 MAMOU (LIVE) 04 MAGALI 05 PESA POSITION 06 PERFUM DE FEMME 07 PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME 08 BOMA NGAI NABOMA YO 09 BOIS NOIR 10 FAUTE DE VISA 11 NAKOMBO 12 TCHATCHO MBALA 13 ADIEU PAPA MAWETE 14 COLONISATION 15 MARIO (AFRICANDO VERSION)
KWAMY MUNSI formally of OK JAZZ joins l'African Fiesta after a disagreement with FRANCO. On this song he claims the FRANCO is not as wealthy as he allegedly claims and goes around writing bad checks.
07 FRANCO & TP OK - CHICOTTE
FRANCO responds to KWAMY MUNSI'S claims with the song CHICOTTE (a chicotte is a type of whip). FRANCO speaks to KWAMY like a wayward child and reminds him that he created him and he can still "whip" him! At the end of the song SIMARRO LUTUMBA explains exactly where the beef started. KWAMY asked FRANCO for a new truck and when FRANCO refused he left OK JAZZ and wrote the song FAUX MILLIONAIRE. SIMARRO explains that it is only right that FRANCO respond with this song because KWAMY was spreading lies about the same person who gave him life as a performer.
08 FRANCO & TP OK JAZZ - COURSE AU POUVIOR
This is another song directed @ KWAMY. COURSE AU POUVIOR means "The road to power" roughly translated. Later KWAMY MUNSI would return to OK JAZZ as a vocalist.
09 FRANCO & TP OK JAZZ - CHERIE BONDWE 10 YOULOU MABIALA - JUDOKA 11 JEANNOT BOMBENGA & VOX AFRICA - MOBALI YA NGELELE 12 JEANNOT BOMBENGA & VOX AFRICA - BIKA MUNU BAMPANGI
R.I.P. LIONEL LE GRAND (RADIO SOLIEL D'AYITI)
13 FRANCO & TP OK JAZZ - KINSIONA 14 ROCHEREAU - KASHAMA NKOY
15 BOZI BOZIANA - LA SIRENE 16 WERRASON - 13 ANS 17 KOFFI OLOMIDE - CLASSE TENDRESSE 18 ZAIKO LANGA LANGA - ZAIKO WA WA (CLOSING THEME)
Bakwetu - Papa Wemba(Theme) Tokoma Ba Camarade ya Pamba - Franco & OK Jazz Meka Okangama Mbanzi Ya Kamundele Tailleur Makambo Ezali Bourreau Ndaya Shout For Freedom - Jimmy Cliff w/Franco & OK Jazz Love Me - Jimmy Cliff w/Pepe Felly & Grand Zaiko Wawa Fololo Ya Nzembo 1 - Zaiko Langa Langa Toli Ya Kulu Ima Elo Zaiko Wawa (Closing Theme)
Yesterday was Father's Day here in the states. I spent the day with my father and family eating and having a good time. Hopefully all of you fathers out there stateside had a nice weekend with your kids. I had a great one with my Dad.
I just wanna take this time to say
Thanks Daddy, for EVERYTHING...
(L to R; My older sister, Me and My dad, Guy in Prospect Park, Brooklyn circa 1989)
I would like to dedicate this video to my Dad. He of course introduced this song to me and it is now one of my favorites. It's Franco & TP OK Jazz with "Bina Na Ngai Na Respect" Enjoy...
Franco & TP OK Jazz clips seem to popping up like crazy on Youtube.com over the past few weeks. Just today I saw maybe 7 clips I hadn't seen before and I check for new clips pretty regularly. Thanks again to the people I mentioned before who continuously bring us these timeless footage.
On last night's broadcast Guy played a very special song. Kinsiona by Franco. This song is another one of Franco's very personal songs (Attentiona Na Sida and Kinshasa Mboka Ya Makambo being two others). April 30th I blogged about Franco's brother, Bavon Marie Marie who was killed in a car crash. This song Kinsiona was written for Bavon Marie Marie. It is sung in Kikongo. Though it is full of grief and sorrow it is a beautiful song. In this clip (brought to us by youtube.com user rahndi) Franco sings Kinsiona for a crowd in Holland (1987).
This next clip is the reason why I love You Tube. It's a clip of a Congolese songstress by the name of Vonga Aye. According to the comments left by some of the You Tube users, Vonga Aye was discovered by Empompo Deyess and just like his earlier discovery, Mpongo Love, she is physically challenged. What struck me most though is that she also shares a similar captivating quality to her predecessor in both vocal performance and presence. Thanks to You Tuber, Innosita, I am able to bring you this clip:
About a month ago I started posting up video clips on Sundays. The reason for this is that I kept running into some REALLY REALLY great quality clips on You Tube that I had to share. I would like to take this time out to thank some of the people who post those quality clips, (these are their 'names' on You Tube. I don't know their real names but they are appreciated just the same): Innosita Nasipwondi Rahndi Jeannotprosmart Clanwenge Likinga Bedward Consigliare
Thank you so so much for uploading such wonderful pieces of history. These videos must be retained for future generations and you all are doing a great job of keeping them in rotation.
Today I bring you very heartfelt video. Live footage of Franco singing one of his more personal songs "Kinshasa Mboka Ya Makambo" which means in english, "Kinsahsa City of Problems. During the time that Franco wrote the song there were rumors swirling around him. Some people believed he was a drug dealer and others claimed he no longer loved his city. The rumors obviously hurt Franco as you can tell by the emotion he puts into the performance. When he asks for his guitar 'so I can speak' the song gets even more intense as he lets the guitar strings tell the rest of the story. This is one of the most heart wrenching songs I've heard and seeing the live footage gives the song that much more depth. Franco by his word loved his people and wondered why they wanted to see him fail.
I'm working on a blog that will map out the history of Zaiko Langa Langa and introduce Pepe Felly to those who may not know his great significance to Congolese music.
Today though I will bring to you a few videos that I've found online.
Yesterday I brought to you the artist, Tabu Ley. Here is some footage of Rochereau at work:
ASSEMBA LELA
...his stage show was fresh...
LOYENGE
...featuring (now ex-) wife, Mbilia Bel. Nice dancing from both...
MOKOLO NA KOKUFA
...this is a new video to an old classic song...
Some Franco + TP OK Jazz:
TOYEBA YO
...keep your eyes peeled for Sam Mangwana...
BISELELA
...those outfits are the epitome of GROOVY...pretty song
MAKAMBO EZA MINENE
...the interaction between the lead singer and Franco is classic...
Watching this footage really makes me smile. It adds another dimension to the music for those of us who weren't present at the time of these recordings. I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did. Peace...
60s: Café -as evidenced in last weeks rebroadcast of Show #3 it was shown that Franco (& TP OK Jazz's) style of rhumba was much closer to 'traditional' rhumba during the 60s. Some songs such as Café had the singer singing in a lingala-spanish-portugese 'patois'. In this song (from what I gather of the patois) a man is picking up a woman. "Como te escriban Cafe?" (How do you write Café?) from that line I also gather that the woman's name is Café. Don't quote me on that though lol
70s:Radio Trottior - by the 70s Franco's sound was much more distinguishable from traditional rhumba and lyrically portrayed Kinshasa's social landscape with more accuracy. Franco's strength, next to being a band leader and superb guitarist, was his ability to write lyrics that the people could relate to. Radio Trottior (literally Sidewalk Radio) is about gossip and how it can cause problems if you listen to what people are saying on the street.
80s:12,600 Lettres - Franco received thousands of fan letters. A re-occurring theme within these letters was woman complaining that their sister-in-laws dislike and mistreat them. The hook goes: Bandeko ya basi yo yo yo yo balingaka basi ya bandeko mibali te mpo na nini; meaning 'Why do sister in laws not like their brother's wives?' After the song goes off there is a 'Debate' between Franco and his band members (men and women alike) discussing the subject of inlaws for approx. 12minutes. 12,600 Lettres Debat
Franco & Tabu Ley
These are just a mere three examples of Franco's lyrical prowess over the years. His prolific nature prohibits me from really delving into his collection and picking out songs to dissect because frankly it would take the span of Franco's career, so I just chose a few selections for today.
At the beginning of 1987, Franco recorded a song which is considered the most intense 15 minutes ever recorded. The song Attention Na Sida (beware of Aids) was sung mainly in French in order to reach a wider audience. Amid heavy drums and almost eerie guitars ,Franco thundered out an emotional message ,talking about the disease ,imploring mankind to be more careful in their relationships ,while urging governments to take further steps to fight the epidemic. Even for those who could understand what was being said, Franco's emotional, prophet like outburst sent shivers running through their spines.
October 17, 1989 Franco passed away from complications of AIDS. Franco is the face of Congolese music, which is a great source of pride for the Kinois and Congolese in general. He laid the foundation for Soukous and countless other artists and orchestras who also in turn made incredible music in the same vain as Franco. Franco IS ya miziki ya Congo and he is awfully missed. R.I.P. Ya Franco
No one can mention Congolese music without mentioning Franco et Le Tout Pouissant O.K. Jazz. Franco is said to have shaped modern Congolese music from his innovative guitar strumming technique to the subject matter he covered in his music, Franco was an Originator of the genre and several Ochestras and musicians owe their success their success to him.
Last weeks show (which was in actuality Show #3; click playlist on the right hand side to listen) Guy covered Franco's earlier works such as Est Ce Que Oyebi?, Cheri Lovy. These songs are from the late '60s. Franco's writing style is appealing in that he covers everyday relationship issues. His phrasing (or it could just be the Lingala language that allows for it) is poetic yet simple. The story Cheri Lovy is about a young woman who wishes badly to get pregnant by her man. So badly in fact that she even goes to the market to buy a doll and dresses the doll as a child and gets laughed at. But she's that desperate. 'Nakobota papi, Nakobota..." she says (i will give birth papi, i will). My favorite song from this era of Franco is "Nayebaki Likambo" which means "I Know Problems". A young man talks about how he lost his love, he doesn't want to speak or go anywhere. Basically he's love sick. He says tell my granma and family I'm going back to Kinshasa because he can't find his love where he is.
60s:
70s:
80s:
