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FERRE'S MUSICAL JOURNEY
"This is the day. It is finally with us” an ecstatic fan shouts to the media crew, as he runs bare-chested, towards the entrance of the Stade De Martyrs stadium, in Lingwala on the Northern outskirts of Kinshasa. His hands holding a placard with the name Ferre Gola emblazoned on it, he runs forth and back, shouting his voice hoarse. The day was June 24th, the day of the much-anticipated Ferre Gola concert.
The excitement was palpable as the carnival mood engulfed the neighborhood. Crowds thronged the facility some in groups, some in isolation, some chanting, and some shouting. The day for the much-awaited Ferre Gola concert had come and fans had traveled from far across the country to attend the fete, one of its kind. Yet another group ran singing "They cannot much us," which introduces a second perspective, that the concert isn’t just about entertainment, but there are scores to be settled. The rivalry between top Congolese musicians is known to oftentimes spill over to their fans. Like the football hooliganism elsewhere, many such rival confrontations have ended up in a melee.
To some other fans, the concert is a case of their favorite musician Ferre Gola to showcase his greatness and extend his dominance. Event organizers had done a splendid job marketing the event and on the eve of the fete, it was evident that the event would be epic, and one of its kind Kinshasa, a city of over 12 million people has never had in recent past. On the evening of the eve, the podium had been erected in the 80,000-seater stadium, huge banners carrying the portrait of the musician hoisted strategically inside the stadium, the sound system set and tested, it was all systems go, as the hand of the clock ticked towards the hour.
The concert was also meant to showcase Kenya’s singing sensation Victoria Kimani, whom Ferre Gola has previously featured in the song ’ Tucheze’ sung in Swahili. This added impetus to excitement as many fans had not had an opportunity to see her, despite the song being fairly popular among Ferre fans. Ferre Gola, born Herve Gola Bataringe, in Kinshasa in 1976, is undoubtedly one of the current topmost musicians in the country that has been described by several musicologists as the land of musical gods. He has a wild following among the youth and the middle age.
In the country, other musical greats, others maybe bigger than Gola may have existed, but none has organized an extravaganza of this kind, in recent history. Worth noting is that the founders of the country's music, and other prior generations, mostly regularly performed at specific clubs, popularly known as "Nganda", and fans would catch up with the bands in their respective 'home grounds', as it was the case with the legendary Un-Deux-Trois which hosted OK Jazz of Franco.
Ferre began his career around 1997, when he was scouted by Werrason into the original Wenge Musica 4×4, in its sunset days. His first appearance on the big stage was a Wenge Musica concert that also featured Papa Wemba as a guest singer, in the same year. He carried the moniker 'Mwana Nsuka' as the last born of the band as he was the youngest of the musicians in the band that was the epicenter of an earthquake that shook Congolese music in the late 1990s.
When Werrason went separate ways with JB Mpiana in 1998, the former carried along young singer Ferre into his new outfit named Wenge Musica Maison Mère, where he established himself as a star singer, with hits like 'Vita Imana', his own composition, from the album 'Solola bien' turning out to be one of the band's most successful songs. The song figuratively captures the intrigues of a romantic relationship in an analogy of two top Congolese football teams, Imana and Vita. With a soft tenor, and a unique ability to mimic other musicians' voices, young Ferre cut himself a niche in the band that also had other singers like Bill Clinton, Baby Ndombe, Adjani Sesele, and others. He sang both lead and backup vocals. As Werrason’s singer, he participated in the recording of six albums.
He quit Werrason's band Wenge Musica Maison Mère in 2006, for a sojourn in a new outfit known as Les Maquis De Maison Mere, which had musicians like JDT Mulopwe, Bill Clinton and others, some whom they had defected together from Wenge Musica Maison Mere. This ensemble didn’t last long as it only recorded one album titled 'Miracle' which featured the hit song ‘100 Kilo’, a composition of Ferre Gola. Towards the end of 2006, Ferre Gola signed a contract with Koffi Olomide, that saw him incorporated into Koffi's band Quartier Latin International. It was in this period that he shared a platform with yet another upcoming superstar Fally Ipupa, who would later become one of his main competitors for the country's finest. Ferre left footmarks at the band, with his own composition 'insecticide'. With the band, he participated in the recording of two albums.
After leaving Koffi's Quartier Latin, he recorded the popular hit 'Vie ya Zero' which featured ace guitarist Olivier Tshimanga. In 2007, he created his own band and recorded his first album titled 'Sens Interdict' which proved very successful, even beyond the frontiers of DRC. Some of the notable members of his ensemble include solo guitarist Charly Solo, rhythmist Mark House Damba, Mirage Arnake, Nicodeme, and Chikito Makinu, a talent he founded and nurtured, and many others.
Among his popular songs are 'mercurie', '3em doigt, maboko pamba, boite noir, kinshasa, bequile, andy
mutual, pakadjuma, lubukulukumu, etc etc. He has so far released eight albums with over 100 songs. His latest album is titled Dynastie. In the history of Congo, business is known to come to a standstill when a big name, musically, is visiting and it wasn't going to be any different with this show. The fact that Victoria Kimani, the Kenyan female singer that Fere Gola had incorporated in his 2016 song 'Tucheze' was scheduled to perform at the event, added impetus to the enthusiasm. With the band's electrifying performance, and with Victoria adding an East African taste to the broth, the concert turned out to be the epitome of what many a musician's fan would wish for, one that would easily overshadow previous such events, not just attendance, but the show itself. Victoria who has signed for the Nigerian record label Chocolate City, began her career backing up Mercy Myra and produced her first album in 2016. She has collaborated with several musicians, including Tanzania's Diamond. Her electrifying moves by Victoria got the crowd wild. This also elevated her, as pundits opine that she could be Kenya’s musician who performed to the largest crowd ever.
Ferre Gola also designed the concert to celebrate Congolese music in general, as he also performed songs by other legendary Congolese musical greats of yesteryears, making it an all-Congolese music affair and not necessarily a Ferre Gola extravaganza, a fact which resonated well with the audience. The crowd was estimated to be 120,000, as according to the organizers, the tickets sold for the day, superseded the stadiums by over 30,000 people. The facility has a capacity of 80,000. With the team on stage, complete with a dozen dancers, the team delivered exactly what the fans had wished for, the very best of their favorite musician. The concert arguably thrust Gola to the apex of Congolese music and for any of his rivals to topple him, they may have to organize spectacles bigger than this, to prove themselves.
By Jarome Ogola Jabulani Radio Livestream
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