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
Yesterday was Labor Day in the United States. On last Saturday's show Guy explained why the observance of Labor Day is held in September. Everywhere else in the world Labor Day is celebrated on May 1st.
He also discussed the song Mwana Mboka by Les Kinois. Funny story behind this song One day when Guy was setting up his Myspace he tells me his nickname is Mwana Mboka. I thought that was so interesting. A day or so prior to that I had found a Les Kinois song of the same name. Loosely translated it means 'child of Africa'. Guy talks about being very proud to be Haitian. And that despite his being wholly absorbed into Ngungwa culture to the point where he says he was accused of lying when he told people he was Haitian, he never stopped being Haitian. Listening to the lyrics to Mwana Mboka I was able to understand exactly why my father's childhood friends gave him the nickname Mwana Mboka. Even as Haitian as he is, he is very much African.
For me growing up both Congolese and Haitian in America has been an effortless juggling act for me. I have to credit Guy for that. Seeing him go effortlessly from Kreyol to Lingala (two languages where attitude is just as important in getting your point across as grammar) subconsciously showed me people from different parts of the world are not as different as we would like to believe. We may speak differently, eat different things, etc but at the end of the day as soon as everyone is speaking the same language you realize you were saying the same things all along. As Black people I feel there are great opportunities to be had by uniting with different cultures other than our own. I feel that we will find that among us our cultures are not so drastically different. If you are around another cultures long enough you can adapt to them and appreciate the differences as well as similarities.
Speaking of which tying in with Labor Day is a celebration (which actually has nothing to do with Labor Day) which has the Caribbean representing their cultures/nations while appreciating all the others present. Every year people representing every corner of the Caribbean gather on Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway to celebrate the West Indian Day Parade. Several different cultures which stem from one source: Africa. In Brooklyn yesterday (In Brooklyn everyday lol) there were various expressions of Africa on display. Children of the Africans who were enslaved and scattered across the West Indies, who despite slavery created their own cultures. Though they are different there is a very strong similarity across the board that is undeniably the stamp of Africa.
Only some Children of (enslaved) Africans are fortunate to go back. Guy aka Mwana Mboka was one of them. This week I will continue with his story as he told it on last weeks broadcast.
I will leave you all with the song Zouke Zouke by Pepe Kalle. To me it is a perfect blend of Zouk and Soukous and ties in with the subject of Africans appreciating each other's culture.
As stated yesterday Tambour d'Afrique will be airing sans host. Here is a tracklist of the Pepe Kalle playlist that will play (in addition to the playlist that I posted up on Tuesday): 01 Nazoki 02 Nakobelela 03 Lundokisi 04 Tobokolo Muana 05 Guyguy Madimba 06 Mayimona 07 Kingotolo 08 Pon Moun Paka Bouge
tune in @ 10pm Eastern Standard Time, @ www.radiotriomphe.com
If Joseph "Le Grand Kalle" Kabasale is considered the father of Modern Congolese music then one must place Antoine Wendo Kolosoy as Grandfather of the legacy of Modern Congolese music. He emerged mixing Congolese traditional melodies that he learned from his mother with Cuban rumba, waltz, and tango. His first hit "Marie Louise" was recorded in 1948, which earned him jail time for the song was accused of being able to wake the dead. Read more about Papa Wendo in this wonderful 2002 interview given by Banning Eyre of Afropop Worldwide:
At 82 years old he is the oldest living Congolese performer. Sadly in this day and age this seems to be rare. We still have Tabu Ley, Sam Mangwana, Mbilia Bel, Papa Wemba and Pepe Felly (among others) still with us making music. Let us hope they make it to see 82 and beyond and continue to move us with their music in the meantime.
Upon his return to the scene Wendo Kolosoy opens up his album "Marie Louise" (1999) with a tribute to one of Congolese music's 'gone too soon' fallen stars, Pepe Kelle. It is named for Pepe Kalle as well and it is in one word Beautiful. The memoriam is short but heartfelt. Coming from the Grandfather of modern day Congolese music, it also speaks to Pepe Kalle's greatness. Pepe Kalle(song)
On the same album is a remake of his 1948 hit Marie Louise
You can hear snippets from (and purchase) Wendo Kolosoy's return from retirement "Marie Louise" and also his 2002 release "Amba" @ Stern's Music. Just click the link that says samples and enjoy.
Antoine Wendo Kolosoy is a walking breathing living legend and we here at Tambour D'Afrique salute him.
Another star who got his start with Le Grand Kalle & L'African Jazz was Pepe Kalle. His connection to Le Grand Kalle is unique in that he was a homeless boy that Le Grand Kalle took in. Read his story here:
Here is an obituary. What I find interesting about this obituary is that it does more to explain Congolese music and how it took shape and how Pepe Kalle took part in that than it does the life of Pepe Kalle but it's a good source of information.
For someone with such a large stature he was definitely a dynamic performer, as evidenced by the kwassa kwassa clip I posted up last Sunday. His voice is also one of the best in Congolese music. His baritone is extremely smooth and clear. Empire Bakuba's arrangements and blending of different sounds (particularly Zouk & Kompas) and ability to update that same sound that made them popular in the 80s is amazing. Listening to his music it is really no wonder why he is so popular. It speaks for itself.
I chose 3 random (but great) songs. One for each decade starting with the 70s. Enjoy:
Last night's show was cancelled due to technical difficulties. As stated in the first entry of this blog the servers have failed in the past. In the case that this happens I will just bring you some music and some commentary to go along with it. I still intend to bring you the rest of the Pepe Felly interview in english, please hold tight with that.
...
"Mama bina, nzoto elingana..."
The quote above means "Dance Mama, your body wants/needs to..." It's from the song Ikwa by Flaisha Mani (1996). Dancing is a HUGE part of Congolese music. After all, music (for the most part) is supposed to cause the movement of the body as well as the spirit. Congolese music has no problems doing both...
As a child in the late '80s the first dance craze I was introduced to was the Kwassa Kwassa. Before the roger rabbit, the cabbage patch and running man (three different dances that took over hip hop in the late 80s/early 90s) took over my dancing technique, I was a wee youth attempting the kwassa kwassa with my older sister to Congolese music. 'Kwassa' is a variation of the french for 'what's that' ('quoi ca?'). It wasn't until recently did I realize that several different artists chanted "KwassaKwassa..KWASSA!" on their tracks when the craze hit. For the longest time I thought it was a particular song to which a dance was made lol Here's to learning new things everyday!
The other day I found footage (thank goodness for YOUTUBE seriously) of Grand Zaiko Wawa performing on TV and PC Mpondolo and Co. showing the world how the Kwassa Kwassa is done!
These guys really killed it. You can't help but attempt the moves when you see it.
The Dancers for Empire Bakuba bring more variation to the dance and check out the ladies getting down. Pepe Kalle, the inventor of the dance, gets busy with it at the end too!
I urge you ALL to try this at home! lol
Catch you all tomorrow, there will be a show and tell, everybody get your youtube clips of you doing the Kwassa Kwassa ready...just kidding lol but If you want to by all means! Until tomorrow...PEACE :)
