Jabulani News Archives

WHAT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL CONGOLESE MUSIC STYLE.

January 08, 2025 - 09:00 PM WHAT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL CONGOLESE MUSIC STYLE. The recent trend of increasingly programmed music over live instrumentation is because it's cheaper to record and release. Half the battle of making music today is done when you can program percussions, horn sections, and synths on the keyboard. Where back in the day, you had to factor in whether live horns would sync well with the guitars, keyboards, and drums. This means that music composition was the foundation of song creation, as opposed to improvising melodies on a keyboard or guitar partition and then stretching them out into songs. I...

FRANCO : OKJ ALL TIME GREATEST COMPOSER

January 08, 2025 - 12:15 PM 'Babotoli ya malili', the air conditioner has been confiscated. This is a line from Franco's hit "Mokolo Tonga," known as "Taileur." The other line is: "Okomi komona pasi ya bangungi, okomibeta mbata na nzoto." The second line, translated, means you will be slapping yourself like everyone else to chase marauding mosquitoes from your face. The song was composed while Franco was incarcerated at Makala prison for composing and recording songs that were considered explicit. He was chiding Kengo Wa Dondo, who had been the country’s attorney but had since been fired from the job. The song is just a tip of the iceberg in a bid to illustrate who was the master composer at OK Jazz.......

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......

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......

LOKASSA YA M'BONGO

December 08, 2024 - 08:26 AM In the world of Congolese music, where lead guitarists often take the spotlight, Lokassa ya M'bongo stands out as a rhythm guitarist who achieved stardom. His journey began in 1968 with one of Africa’s greatest bands, Afrisa, led by the legendary Tabu Ley Rochereau. Initially, the band was known as African Fiesta Nationale, and Lokassa spent years in the background, playing alongside prominent musicians like Attel Mbumba, Michelino Mavatiku Visi, and Dino Vangu. For a decade, he contributed to the success of Afrisa’s hits and performed on the international stage, including the band's breakthrough shows at the Olympia in Paris in 1970. In 1978, during an Afrisa tour, Lokassa,......

KNOW MORE ABOUT PAPA LOLO HIT MAKER

November 29, 2024 - 03:23 PM Fanfan, as his fans know him, was a veteran musician of the second generation of Congolese rumba. He was primarily a guitarist but also excelled as a composer, arranger, and band leader. Born in October 1945, Mose Sengo, aka Mose Fanfan, debuted in music in 1966 with a band called Rickem Jazz in Kinshasa. He also had a stint with the Orchestre Revolution, a formation mostly consisting of musicians who had rebelled from Franco's OKJ in 1967. Fanfan, the only guitarist who could pull out a Franco on the fretboard, joined OKJ in 1968 and left in 1974. He played in the studio recording of several songs, including Beya, his own composition, dje melasi, and several others. He quit the band to......

BIOGRAPHY OF EMPIRE BAKUBA

November 24, 2024 - 02:20 PM BIOGRAPHY OF EMPIRE BAKUBA Empire Bakuba is a celebrated Congolese band, formed in 1973; and disbanded in 1998. Core members: "Boeing 737" Kinanga Nanzao (born Congo-Kinshasa, July 6, 1953; guitar), Dilu Dilumona (born Kinshasa, Feb. 15, 1948; vocal), "Doris" Ebuya Lange (born Congo-Kinshasa; guitar), Pepe Kalle(born Kinshasa, Dec. 30, 1951; died Kinshasa, Nov. 29, 1998; vocal), "Papy Tex" Matolu Dode (born Kinshasa, June 28, 1952; vocal). Empire Bakuba was the direct descendant of African Choc, a neighborhood band built around the nucleus of singers Kalle, Dilu, and Papy Tex. Afrisadrummer Seskain Molenga, on the lookout for musicians to help him make surreptitious recordings, introduced......

Jabulani News Archives

WHAT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL CONGOLESE MUSIC STYLE.

FRANCO : OKJ ALL TIME GREATEST COMPOSER

THE FAKE COUP

WHEN TWO GIANTS LANDED IN KISUMU

KASULE UGANDA'S GEM TO THE WORLD

REMMY ONGALA "SURA MBAYA"

THE MUTUASHI QUEEN'S REIGN EXTENDS BEYOND HER DEATH

LOKASSA YA M'BONGO

KNOW MORE ABOUT PAPA LOLO HIT MAKER

BIOGRAPHY OF EMPIRE BAKUBA

News

Artist Spotlight (15)

Editor's Choice (12)

Jabulani Library: Most Popular (48)

Jabulani News Archives (24)

Music Lyrics (52)

Playlists (4)

Playlists 2 (0)

RhumbaChronicles2 (0)

Programs

Rumba Fiesta by The Rumba Monk

Soukous Fever

Rhumba Overdose Show Replay

Bahari ya Zilizopendwa

Echoes of Africa Show

Jabulani African Hits

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

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Jabulani News Archives

WHAT CHANGED THE ORIGINAL CONGOLESE MUSIC STYLE.

FRANCO : OKJ ALL TIME GREATEST COMPOSER

THE FAKE COUP

WHEN TWO GIANTS LANDED IN KISUMU

KASULE UGANDA'S GEM TO THE WORLD

REMMY ONGALA "SURA MBAYA"

THE MUTUASHI QUEEN'S REIGN EXTENDS BEYOND HER DEATH

LOKASSA YA M'BONGO

KNOW MORE ABOUT PAPA LOLO HIT MAKER

BIOGRAPHY OF EMPIRE BAKUBA

News

Artist Spotlight (15)

Editor's Choice (12)

Jabulani Library: Most Popular (48)

Jabulani News Archives (24)

Music Lyrics (52)

Playlists (4)

Playlists 2 (0)

RhumbaChronicles2 (0)

Programs

Rumba Fiesta by The Rumba Monk

Soukous Fever

Rhumba Overdose Show Replay

Bahari ya Zilizopendwa

Echoes of Africa Show

Jabulani African Hits

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

Livestream