PEPE: THE LITERAL AND FIGURATIVE GIANT OF AFRICAN MUSIC

PEPE: THE LITERAL AND FIGURATIVE GIANT OF AFRICAN MUSIC.

The year is 1991, and Pepe Kalle is visiting Tanzania. He has a scheduled show in Arusha, and the team is traveling around Arusha in a taxi, marveling at the picturesque aura of the town situated at the foot of an inactive volcanic Mt. Meru, a town known for its vibrant nightlife.

An enchanted passenger is engaged in a hearty banter about the town, a conversation that happens in Lingala. The driver is female, in itself a rare occurrence, but that's not all. There is something more about her.

Ordinarily, Tanzanians don't speak Lingala, although the reverse is true: most Congolese speak Swahili, especially those from Eastern Congo, as Swahili would've been the natural language of choice if the lady was to join the conversation.

The lady taxi driver chose to surprise her audience by joining in the conversation in a fluent Lingala, which apparently she had learned while on a sojourn in DRC for a business trip. These Congolese musicians were shocked at the revelations but nonetheless appreciated the hearty chat with their polyglot crew.

The woman's name was Hidaya Hamisi Masawe. It is from this environment that a camaraderie was conceived, one that gestated the composition of the song'shikamo seye' by Pepe Kale and his Empire Bakuba Ensemble, which Pepe and his team returned to Arusha with a year later, in 1992.

This anecdote only serves to explain how an encounter inspired the composition of a song by one of DRC's most popular musicians of the third generation, one whose 'earthquake' had its center at Editions Veve, one whose subgenre was known as 'cavacha'.

Pepe Kalle, a Muluba by tribe, was born Kabaselle Yampanya in Leopoldville, currently Kinshasa, on November 30, 1951. His earliest dalliance with music was in the sunset days of African Jazz in Grand Kalle. Grand Kalle had in 1963 reconstituted his band after the big bang that saw the departure of its pillars, Tabuley, Dr Nico, Dechaud, Willy Kuntima, Roger Izeidi, and others defected to create their own African Fiesta.

Although Pepe Kalle didn't leave behind any notable legacy by way of any footprints of recorded works with African Jazz, Grand Kalle, aka Joseph Kabaselle, was his mentor and inspiration. It was until the 1970s. He participated and sang with Bella Bella and later Lipua Lipua, all bands signed at Editions Veve, before finally teaming up with Dilu Dilumona, Papy Tex, Seskain Molenga, and others to create Empire Bakuba, a band they named from a Congolese ethnic group, one whose elements of traditional rhythms found way into the band's early productions.

Young Pepe Kalle thrust into the limelight happened through the 1972 song 'nakomitunaka' a composition of Verckys, which he did with his band Orchestre Veve. All the Veve housed bands shared musicians in the days, and it wasn't uncommon for a Bella Bella singer to feature for Veve.

The philosophical song with lyrics that pierce deep into the concept of Christianity by raising perimeter questions about the doctrines was banned by the church and subsequently denied airplay on radio, but these actions only amplified the success of the song in terms of record sales.

Empire Bakuba grew to become one of the top Congolese bands, partly for the composing acumen of Pepe and for his octave vocal range. By the time the band was celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 1982, the band had established itself at the apex of the country's music.

Pepe's song 'Roger Milla' of 1990 holds a unique position in the history of Africa as it showcases the greatness of Pepe Kalle, the musician who composed and sang the song, the greatness of Zangilu Popolipo on guitar, and that of the Cameroonian football legend Roger Milla, who is the subject of the song.

This November, fans across the world will be marking 16 years of the death of this giant of African music, who was a titan both literally and metaphorically. Physically, he was only second to Gerrard Madiata of Congo Jazz and Maybe Prof. Naaman of the Kenyan band Nine Stars. His music immortalizes him.

By Jarome Ogola

Jabulani Radio Livestream

Next Track

Track History