Jabulani Library

BADIBANGA WA TSHILUMBA: THE LES MANGELEPA MASTER SHOWMAN

January 02, 2025 - 04:58 PM BY JEROME OGOLA Described by Standard Newspaper cartoonist Mado as “a band within a band”, Badibanga Wa Tshilumba aka Kaikai was a spectacle to behold in Les Mangelepa shows. His showmanship oozed naturally. He was a master of the stage. Although trying to do his choreography in synchrony with the other members on stage, he oftentimes ended up a one man show as he outwitted them. He knew how to do it. Badibanga Wa Tshilumba was a rare talent. He was Nairobi's most known trombone player, and possibly the only one in the secular circles outside the military. He made his trombone miraculously outstanding, thus creating a wonderful harmony with the super saxophones......

KAMARU'S JOURNEY IN MUSIC

December 31, 2024 - 10:33 PM BY JEROME OGOLA There was a musician who was summoned to Gatundu by Mzee Kenyatta, the then Kenya's president, and thoroughly flogged by an angry Mzee. This was a popular celebrity gossip that also made inroads to political discourses in the mod 1970s.What was the musician, and what was the dispute that made old Jomo, that angry? It was all about a song that was released after the assassination of JM Kariuki, pointing an accusing finger at Mzee Kenyatta and suggesting he was complicit. Two songs had been released at the time, themed on the assassination. The songs were by DK Mwai and Joseph Kamaru, both of which were popularly Kikuyu musicians of the day. The person who was flogged......

THE MYSTERY OF THE MALAIKA COMPOSER AND MBOYA'S CONTRIBUTION

December 29, 2024 - 08:21 PM BY JEROME OGOLA When Kenyan pugilist Robert Nangila was boxed to death in Las Vegas in 1994, a bizarre tussle on who his father emerged with a dozen guys coming up to claim paternity. This could definitely be attributed to his success in the ring, being the only African to win a gold medal in the Olympics and with this kind of achievement, the former star boy had definitely built an enormous financial empire. Malaika is undoubtedly the most popular Swahili song. The ballad has traversed the world, recorded hundreds of times by different musicians, and performed uncountable times. The song is the 'Guantanamera' of East Africa. It hasn't just happened. It has been there for many......

SHOW ME THE WAY BY PAPA WEMBA LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

December 28, 2024 - 12:29 PM Take me by the hand … Show me the way, I can go.Take me by the hand … Show me the way Ngai na bugui nzela ehPo bo tikaki nga mosika ehYango na komaki se mitelengano ohKoko lakisa nga nzela eh I lost my way Because you left me far behind That's why I wandered aimlessly Grandfather (mother) shows me the way Ndege nini oh ngai oh, baningaNa ko luka nzela ya bomoiPo bato ya mokili mabe eh yoBa boyi ngai na zua lobiko oh Friends why me I lose the way of life People are bad They do not want me to succeed tomorrow ChorusTake me by the hand … Show me the way, I can go.Take me by the hand … Show me the way Take me by the hand … Show me......

MAKEBA: MAMA AFRICA

December 23, 2024 - 01:47 PM By Jerome Ogola She performed in Kenya's independence fete in Nairobi in 1963, she carried the Name of Mama Africa, for wearing the face of resilience and determination, she became the most successful African female musician, she was an anti-apartheid crusader, and this isn't all. She collaborated with American calypso legend Harry Belafonte in 1965, in a venture that yielded the 15-track album, A Evening with Belafonte and Makeba, she was once married to Jazz superstar Hugh Masekela, she spent almost her entire life exiled abroad and only made a return when South Africa gained independence in the early 1990s. She is Mirriam Zenzile Makeba. All these accolades don't adequately......

KALENJIN MUSIC HISTORY

December 23, 2024 - 05:18 AM In a whirlwind tour across Kenya's hinterland sampling the country's music from each community, the picturesque scenery of the lush green tea plantains of Kericho prepares one psychologically, for an enchanting musical cuisine, especially factoring the reality that Chandarana, the legendary music recording company set base in the town before the country's independence, long before other towns enjoyed such privileges. Kericho is home to the Kipsigis sub-tribe of the Kalenjin community. They are the most populous of these 11 subtribes, and some quarters also consider them elitist. The sub-tribe occupying two counties has the most vibrant music industry, which can be traced to the......

WHEN TWO GIANTS LANDED IN KISUMU

December 21, 2024 - 01:00 PM Last weekend, Kenya's lakeside town of Kisumu was to experience a rare spectacle in a music extravaganza that was to feature two of the DRC's most iconic music bands: Quartier Latin of Kofi Olomide and Zaiko Langa Langa of N'Yoka Longo. Kisumu, a town that sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, is an epicentre of the evolution of Kenya's most dominant music genre, benga. It prides itself on a thriving entertainment industry, with dozens of bands performing in numerous venues. News of such big names visiting was bound to excite fans, especially bearing in mind that few major artists have visited the town since 1986, when the concrete wall blocking Franco from his fans had to be brought......

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRANKLIN BOUKAKA

December 18, 2024 - 06:31 PM Franklin Boukaka was a rare and extraordinary talent whose artistry transcended music to embody the spirit of resistance and activism. Franklin Boukaka (October 10, 1940 - about February 23–24, 1972) was a Congolese baritone singer, guitarist, and songwriter who is recognized as one of the pioneers of Congolese popular music. He performed in bands based on each of "the two Congos," i.e., the countries now named the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was a gifted composer, poet, and musician, Boukaka's life was tragically cut short at the age of 32 when he was executed in 1972 following a failed coup in Congo-Brazzaville.......

UFUKARA SI KILEMA LYRICS

December 17, 2024 - 05:00 PM (In the photo, taken in 1989, are, standing, from left to right, Phoney Mukwanyule from Tanzania (trumpeter), Sammy Mwambi from Taita Kenya (soloist) who later played with Super Wanyika Stars of Issa Juma, Philemon a Congolese doorman at Bombax, and Rama Kocha a vocalist from Mombasa Kenya. Sitting are Tom Malanga, the bassist, and John Ngereza the band leader, who also played solo and sang) The song is also known as 'Dunia Kigeugeu' UFUKARA SI KILEMA LYRICS By Les Wanyika This song was composed by Ngereza Johnny while the band was touring Uganda and recorded in Nairobi in 1984. This song features a killer rhythm guitar by none other than the god of the East African rhythm......

KASULE UGANDA'S GEM TO THE WORLD

December 15, 2024 - 04:25 AM KASULE UGANDA'S GEM TO THE WORLD. Musically, Uganda is dwarfed by her East African counterpart Tanzania who are the region's champions, having produced hundreds of band's that excelled in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. However, even at that point of disadvantage, the country has managed to produce world class superstars, among them on Sammy Kasule. Kasule who was Uganda's biggest musical export to the world, at first to Nairobi and latter to Sweden, died on 28th April 2021 in Amsterdam Netherlands. He had had fallen sick and was travelling abroad to Sweden to seek treatment but when the plane stopped in Amsterdam, it was assessed that his condition had deteriorated, thus the need to seek......

Jabulani Library

BADIBANGA WA TSHILUMBA: THE LES MANGELEPA MASTER SHOWMAN

KAMARU'S JOURNEY IN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY OF THE MALAIKA COMPOSER AND MBOYA'S CONTRIBUTION

SHOW ME THE WAY BY PAPA WEMBA LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

MAKEBA: MAMA AFRICA

KALENJIN MUSIC HISTORY

WHEN TWO GIANTS LANDED IN KISUMU

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRANKLIN BOUKAKA

UFUKARA SI KILEMA LYRICS

KASULE UGANDA'S GEM TO THE WORLD

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Jabulani Library

BADIBANGA WA TSHILUMBA: THE LES MANGELEPA MASTER SHOWMAN

KAMARU'S JOURNEY IN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY OF THE MALAIKA COMPOSER AND MBOYA'S CONTRIBUTION

SHOW ME THE WAY BY PAPA WEMBA LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

MAKEBA: MAMA AFRICA

KALENJIN MUSIC HISTORY

WHEN TWO GIANTS LANDED IN KISUMU

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRANKLIN BOUKAKA

UFUKARA SI KILEMA LYRICS

KASULE UGANDA'S GEM TO THE WORLD

News

Jabulani Library (237)

Artist Spotlight (23)

Editor's Choice (21)

Jabulani Library: Most Popular (40)

Jabulani News Archive (26)

Music Lyrics (51)

Playlists (4)

Playlists 2 (0)

RhumbaChronicles2 (0)

Trending (21)

Jabulani Swahili (9)

Rumba Chronicles (26)

Programs

Weekend Rhumba Twilight Mix

Weekend Soukous Odyssey

Benga Blast

Rhumba Revival

Weekend Zilizopendwa Mix

Weekend Rhumba Mix

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

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