Jabulani News Archives

M’PONGO, ANOTHER SHINING STARLET FROM THE COUNTRY OF MUSICAL GODS

January 30, 2025 - 03:36 PM She was a breathtaking beauty and had a charming persona and an infectious voice. Maybe God was compensating for her physical inadequacies brought about by polio, which denied her a straight posture and a brisk walk. The gorgeous smile on her face endeared her to fans, making her music addictive, thus cultivating loyalty among her fans.It wasn’t just that. A cocktail of other factors catapulted her to fame. Other incidental happenings acted as the wind that blew air into the embers that flared up the flames of her success. In Congolese rumba, rivalry is a known catalyst for creativity, as ex...

Dr. NICO THE GUITAR SUPREMO OF AFRICAN MUSIC

January 18, 2025 - 09:27 AM 'In the earlier days of my career, I really strived to play like Dr. Nico' Pierre Mandjeku Lengo, also known as Dizzy Mandjeku, is an ace soloist who played with Conga 68, Orchestra Veve, Orchestra Bella Bella, Orchestra Kossa Kossa, Afrisa International, African All Stars, and OK Jazz among other bands. 'I emulated Dr Nico's style and that of Guvano, in the nascent days of my career, before eventually developing my own style.' Dizzy narrated to Jabulani. Also known as 'Dieu De La Guitare' or 'the god of the guitar', Nico played a monumental role in pushing the electric guitar to occupy the central position in rumba Congolaise, essentially creating a drift from the Cuban rumba,......

CHAMELEONE DOWN, BUT NOT OUT!

January 11, 2025 - 06:53 AM Ugandan musician Joseph Mayanja, known by his stage name Jose Chameleone, was flown to the USA last week for further treatment. He had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The musical sensation, with over 13 albums in a career spanning two decades, had been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, a condition often caused by excessive alcoholism. His health has deteriorated significantly in recent months. Guests, including the country's president Yoweri Museveni, fellow musicians, and celebrities, had been visiting the Kampala hospital to express their solidarity with the ailing icon. The state catered for his flight abroad, recognizing his monumental status in the......

THE FAKE COUP

January 06, 2025 - 04:00 PM COLONEL BANGALA This is Leopoldville Governor Alphonse Bangala , immortalized in Franco's 1966 song 'Colonel Bangala' which has superb sax by Verckys, equally superb soloing by Franco and Franco himself sings as he is backed by Mujos and Boyibanda. President Mobutu faked a coup to gauge who was loyal and who was not, among his top government officials. The fake coupe was headed by Bangala who recruited and sought the support of several cabinet ministers, politicians, military guys, and other state officials. Those who fell for the trick were executed among them former Prime Minister Evariste Kimba, together with three cabinet members, Jerome Anany (Defence Minister), Emanuel Bamba......

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......

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......

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......

REMMY ONGALA "SURA MBAYA"

December 13, 2024 - 11:35 AM He had a face that, despite not being as ugly as he himself depicted in his 'sura mbaya' sobriquet, could neither be described as handsome because it was far from that reality. To complete the conspicuous look, he wore dreadlocks on his head, with a few strands beaded. That was Dr Remi, the Congolese import into Tanzania, one whose music came to define Tanzania's music. "His first wife was his music, and these other factors played a secondary role," his Belgian wife told reporters in the company of Remi's musical colleague Cosmas Tobis Chidumule, who had made a name as an astute composer and singer with the iconic DDC Mlimani Park. It has been 14 years since Remi died in Dar es Salaam.......

THE MUTUASHI QUEEN'S REIGN EXTENDS BEYOND HER DEATH

December 10, 2024 - 10:15 AM It has been two years since the Queen of Mutuashi, Tshala Muana, breathed her last in a hospital in Kinshasa, where she had been admitted. Her death marked the end of an illustrious career that lasted three decades and saw her become a celebrity not just in her home country, the DRC, but across the continent. Although DRC has had a galaxy of women musicians, from the days of Pauline Lisanga at Loningisa studios in 1952 to the era of Marcel Ebibya, Lucy Eyenga, and the generation of Mbilia Bell, and even those who came after her, like Cindy Le Coeur, Tshala Muana's contribution to Congolese music stands out for several reasons. She is the face of Mutwashi. She did not invent the dance, but......

Jabulani News Archives