For decades, Congolese music has been king on the African music scene. Many have loved, cried, lived and danced to the rhythms of Congolese beats, from rumba to ballads and ndombolo. Congolese artists are legends that have filled the world’s biggest concert halls. This list explores the ten best Congolese bands and musicians you should listen to.
FRANCO LUAMBO MAKIADI
will forever remain in the collective memory of the Congolese as the undisputed ‘King of Rumba.’ Most commonly referred to as ‘Franco,’ he was nicknamed the ‘Sorcerer of the Guitar’ as he mastered the skills of playing fluidly with seemingly little effort. During a span of 40 years in the music industry, Franco produced over 100 albums and approximately 1000 songs to his name. His music blended Cuban rumba with local Congolese rhythms, attracting both the young and the elderly. Until today, his influence can be heard in local music, and remains popular in nightclubs.
During his lifetime, Seigneur Tabu Ley Rochereau was a prominent Congolese rumba singer, a prolific songwriter, one of the continent’s most important vocalists and a politician. He is also the father of the French rapper Youssoupha and 67 other children. Over the years, Tabu Ley produced 250 music albums and composed around 3000 songs. He was also known as the bandleader of Orchestre Afrisa International. A pioneer in soukous music along with his guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley also drew on international elements, such as Caribbean, Cuban and Latin American rumba, which he fused with Congolese folk music. He has been described as the ‘African Elvis.’
zaiko langa-langa is a seminal Congolese soukous band which has been popular throughout the decades, surviving until the 2000s. The word Zaiko is a shortened version of the lingala sentence ‘Zaire ya bankoko,’ which translates as ‘Zaire of our ancestors’ with Zaire referring to the river now known as ‘Congo;’ and ‘Langa Langa’ in turn translates as ‘marvelous.’ Known for having a hippie and rebel attitude, the band became a symbol of the post-independence generation. Their large appeal on the youth of the DR Congo, has meant a comparison is often made between them and the Rolling Stones. Over the years, a number of important Soukous artists have joined the band, including Papa Wemba. In 2000, they were recognized as the ‘best Congolese music group of the 20th century’ by the Congolese Media Association.
Le Grand Kallé was the singer, band leader and songwriter of the most popular song ever sung on African soil: the Congolese independence song called Indépendance Cha Cha. Being a prominent character in the Belgian Congo, he became a member of the Congolese delegation at the ‘Round Table Talks’ regarding independence in 1960. He then composed a several politically themed songs, which became very famous. Le Grand Kallé is also considered to be the father of modern-day Congolese music, since, in 1953, he started one of the most important and earliest Congolese Rumba bands: L’African Jazz.
Papa Wemba is such an important figure in Congolese music that it is nearly impossible to compete with him. Regardless of the popular hits and artists of the moment, the first name that comes to mind when thinking about Congolese music and rumba is Papa Wemba. With songs such as Analengo, Papa Wemba is not only one of the most popular artists in Africa, he is also a prominent figure in world music.
With several gold records in his career, Koffi Olomide is a superstar of fast Soukous Ndombolo music. He is a producer, composer, dancer and singer who is not only famous in Africa, but worldwide. He has succeeded in filling the biggest mega-venues in France that French artists themselves have not managed to fill. Effrakata Loi, and Force de Frappe are songs worth listening to, and of course dancing to! Koffi is also known by a variety of self proclaimed nicknames such as ‘Mopao Mokonzi (translating as ‘the chief’) le Maximum’ and ‘Lettre A,’ referring to the first letter of the alphabet.
As famous across the country as Koffi Olomide, Werrason is Koffi’s biggest competitor.They both have a big ndombolo music repertoire, are amazing dancers with similar dance moves, share a well known pride and arrogance, and have a very big fan base nationwide. However, Werrason is less famous abroad. Contrary to Koffi who adds some poetry into his music, Werrason is a master of the Ndombolo (Soukous) in its purest form. In his early teenage years, Werrason won a martial arts contest and was nicknamed ‘Tarzan, le Roi de la Forêt,’ which later became ‘Roi de la Forêt,’ meaning the king of the forest, as he is known today.
