Congolese rumba

Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese rumba has gained global recognition and remains an integral part of African music heritage. In December 2021, it was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
Emerging in the mid-20th century in the urban centers of Brazzaville and Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) during the colonial era, the genre's roots can be traced to the Bakongo partner dance music known as maringa, which was traditionally practiced within the former Kingdom of Loango, encompassing regions of contemporary Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon, and Cabinda Province of Angola. The style gained prominence in the 1920s–1940s, introducing the advent of the "bar-dancing" culture in Brazzaville and Léopoldville, which incorporated distinctive elements such as a bass drum, a bottle employed as a triangle, and an accordion known as likembe. During the mid-1940s and 1950s, the influence of Cuban son bands transformed maringa into "Congolese rumba", as imported records by Sexteto Habanero, Trio Matamoros, and Los Guaracheros de Oriente were frequently misattributed as "rumba". The 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of soukous, an urban dance music style that emanated from Congolese rumba, imbuing it with lively rhythms, intricate high-pitched guitar melodies, and large brass and polyrhythmic percussion sections.
Congolese rumba is characterized by its distinct sébène instrumental section, which employs arpeggios, rapid chord changes, and melodic embellishments. Notably, the style frequently employs a third guitar known as mi-solo, wherein the rhythm guitar lays down a basic cyclic pattern, and the "mi-solo and lead guitar create intricate intertwining lines", with "mi-solo" being a "bridge between the ecstatically high-pitched lead guitar and the low-pitched rhythm guitar". Groovy basslines, catchy rhythms based on ostinato or looping phrases, and danceable beats are also typical elements of the genre.
The style has gained widespread popularity in Africa, reaching countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Sudan, Senegal, Burundi, Malawi, and Namibia. Additionally, it has found a following in Europe, particularly in France, Belgium, Germany, and the UK, as well as the US, as a result of touring by Congolese musicians, who have performed at various festivals internationally. Musicians such as Henri Bowane, Wendo Kolosoy, Franco Luambo Makiadi, Le Grand Kallé, Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Sam Mangwana, Papa Noël Nedule, Vicky Longomba, Zaïko Langa Langa, and Papa Wemba have made significant contributions to the genre, pushing its boundaries and incorporating modern musical elements.
The Congolese rumba is characterized by a slow-to-moderate tempo and syncopated arrangement of drums and percussion, typically following a 4 time signature. The genre's instrumentation has evolved over time. Initially, local tunes were concocted employing instruments such as the likembe, a bottle struck with a metal rod, and a small, skin-covered frame drum called patenge. However, in the 1920s, maringa bands supplanted the likembe with accordions and acoustic guitars. By the 1950s, bands expanded significantly. For instance, Manuel D'Oliveira and Les San Salvador (1952) utilized three guitars, a clarinet, and a scraper, while Antoine Wendo Kolosoy (1956) included three guitars, bass, maracas, and claves. By the mid-to-late 1950s, the instrumentation diversified further with "orchestres", or big bands, becoming the standard and incorporating upright basses, trumpets, saxophones, and more elaborate percussion setups. The contemporary Congolese rumba instrumental makeup primarily includes guitars, mandolins, banjos, drums, saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, maracas, pianos, shakers, double bells (ekonga), likembe, accordion, and racketts.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, Congolese rumba guitars were typically tuned to a "Hawaiian" open tuning (D-G-D-G-B-D), with musicians employing a capo to alter keys, producing a buzzing effect highly esteemed in the genre. The lead guitar in Congolese rumba is responsible for playing intricate, high-pitched melodies. The rhythm guitar lays down the basic cyclic pattern of the composition, while the mi-solo guitar occupies an intermediary role. The name mi-solo translates to "half-solo", signifying its transitional function, wherein the mi-solo guitar mediates between the high-pitched lead guitar and the low-pitched rhythm guitar. The bass guitar plays a crucial role, emphasizing the clavé beat and providing the harmonic framework, typically following a I–IV–V–I progression.
The musical structure involves the use of vocal harmonies, typically arranged in thirds, with occasional octaves or fifths employed for special effects. The music often features three types of call-and-response: between singer and chorus, singer and instrument, and between different instrumental sections. This interplay, combined with a mix of homophony and polyrhythm, creates a rich, textured sound. Melodic interest usually centers on a single part, supported by subordinate accompaniment, while the rhythmic texture is dense and varied across instruments. Horns often punctuate rather than carry the melodic line, except when "used antiphonally with the lead singer or chorus". Improvisation in Congolese rumba is generally motif-based, involving variations on themes, often utilizing intervals like thirds and sixths. Performances are typically delivered in French, Lingala, Swahili, Spanish, Kikongo, and Tshiluba. The vocal delivery encompasses a wide range of expressive modalities, such as vibrato, falsetto, and melismatic ornamentations. A paradigmatic Congolese rumba song usually begins with a slow section featuring vocals, followed by an instrumental interlude called the sébène, characterized by rapid guitar articulations and an accelerated tempo. During the sébène, musicians showcase their skills, and dancers experiment with new steps. Musicians and atalaku often shout slogans to augment the lively, interactive atmosphere.
A proposed etymology for the term "rumba" is that it derives from the Kikongo word nkumba, meaning "belly button", denoting the native dance practiced within the former Kingdom of Congo, encompassing parts of the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Angola. Its rhythmic foundation draws from Bantu traditions, notably the Palo Kongo religion, which traces back to the Kongo people who were unceremoniously transported to Cuba by Spanish settlers in the 16th century.
Miguel Ángel Barnet Lanza's treatise On Congo Cults of Bantu Origin in Cuba explains that the majority of enslaved Africans brought to Cuba were initially of Bantu lineage, although later, the Yoruba from Nigeria became dominant. The musical traditions, dance forms, and spiritual practices were covertly preserved across generations within regions characterized by significant populations of enslaved Africans. Musical instruments like the conga, makuta, catá, yambu, claves, and güiro were used to craft a musical dialogue that engaged in call and response with ancestral spirits and the deceased. Notable figures like Arsenio Rodríguez blended traditional Bakongo sounds with Cuban son.
According to Phyllis Martin's Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville, the popular partnered dance music in the former French Congo and Belgian Congo, which now constitute the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, respectively, was known as maringa. Maringa was a Bakongo dance similar to West African highlife and historically practiced within the former Kingdom of Loango, covering areas in the present-day Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon, and Cabinda Province of Angola. The dance involved a small skin-covered frame drum called patenge for counter-rhythms, a bottle functioning as a triangle, and an accordion known as likembe, which possessed seven to nine steel reeds. The distinctive movements of maringa dancers involved a rhythmic hip sway that shifted body weight alternately from one leg to the other, reminiscent of the Afro-Cuban rumba dance, which later eclipsed older dances and musical forms. The penchant for partnered dance traversed the Congo region by 1930. Ethnomusicology professor Kazadi wa Mukuna of Kent State University explains that many recording studio proprietors at the time sought to reinterpret the term maringa by infusing it with the new "rumba" rhythm while retaining its original name. Martin also observes that White society in Brazzaville, much like elsewhere, developed an interest in Latin American dance music, particularly the rumba, after it had been featured and made respectable at the 1932 Chicago World Fair. However, both the White elite and African aristocracy predominantly embraced the tango and the biguine—a dance reminiscent of the Brazilian samba but originating from Martinique, alongside other transatlantic dances.
In 1934, Jean Réal, a French entertainment director from Martinique, coined the term "Congo Rumba" when he founded an ensemble by that name in Brazzaville in 1938. Clément Ossinondé, a Congolese musicologist specializing in Congolese music, notes that among the Congolese musicians affiliated with Congo Rumba, Gabriel Kakou and Georges Mozebo were prominent figures instrumental in popularizing the genre and mentoring emerging local musicians.
The substantial influx of students from Central Africa at the Ecole Exécutive de Brazzaville and the construction of the Congo–Ocean Railway, which enticed a significant migrant workforce from Central and West Africa between 1930 and 1934, catalyzed the evolution of Congolese rumba in Brazzaville. Emmanuel Okamba, a Congolese musicologist, posits that these West African laborers introduced the highlife rhythm, played on a large drum, which delineated the tempo of the emerging musical genre. He further explains that Zacharie Elenga (popularly known as Jhimmy Zakari), introduced a rhythm inspired by a Cuban sound, dominated by highlife and polka. Some musicologists assert that these immigrant laborers played a seminal role in pioneering the instrumental component of Congolese rumba known as sebene, albeit this contention is often debated, with other musicologists accrediting Antoine Kasongo's Odéon Kinois Orchestra, Antoine Wendo Kolosoy, Henri Bowane, and Félix Manuaku Waku instead. According to British musicologist Gary Stewart's Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos, some scholars even trace sebene's origins further back to transitional genres in Brazzaville, such as the kebo. Stewart expounds that the segment where most dancing transpired was designated as the sebene. One Lingala dictionary defines sebene as dance, although the precise moment of its linguistic integration remains ambiguous.
The vocal ensemble Bonne Espérance emerged in 1935, conceived by the organist Albert Loboko, known as "Nyoka", a Congolese footballer born in Mossaka and a schoolmate of Paul Kamba. Accompanied by musicians Raymond Nguema, Joseph Botokoua, and Bernardin Yoka, Bonne Espérance performed their music at venues such as Chez Mamadou Moro and the Cercle Culturel Catholique de Poto-Poto in Brazzaville. After his return from Mindouli, where he served as an accountant at Congo–Ocean Railway, Kamba introduced a "new musical language" incorporating string and keyboard instruments. In early 1937, the musical ensemble Mannequin was established in Bacongo, under the leadership of François Bamanabio, who, alongside Massamba Lébel, later founded the Jazz Bohème orchestra. However, Réal's arrangements and inclusion of contemporary instruments to local musicians later that year conferred substantial advantages on Brazzaville's native artists, including Alphonse Samba, Michel Kouka, Georges Nganga, Côme Batoukama (guitar), Vital Kinzonzi (accordion), Emmanuel Dadet (saxophone, guitar, and more), and Albert Loboko (banjo, piano, guitar). Four brass bands subsequently emerged in Brazzaville, including the Fanfare Militaire, the Fanfare de la Milice, the Fanfare Catholique, and the Fanfare Municipale.
Dadet and Antoine Kasongo pioneered the contemporary rendition of Congolese folk music by incorporating new influences into their songs. Dadet, proficient on the saxophone, clarinet, and guitar, devised a musical style characterized by "free polyphony", inspired by jazz soloists. His ensemble, Melo-Congo, garnered acclaim among the White elite, performing a diverse repertoire ranging from classic waltzes and foxtrots to contemporary rumba, biguines, and tangos. The ensemble bolstered the prominence of local artists such as Pierre Mara, Georges Ondaye, Jean-Marie Okoko, Philippe Ngaba, Pierre Kanza, Casimir Bounda, Jean Dongou, Augustin Thony, André Tsimba, Pierre Loemba, Barète Mody, Pascal Kakou, Félix Maleka, and Botokoua. Melo-Congo enjoyed tremendous success, performing in Poto-Poto at the dance bar PICKUP, then at dance halls like Chez Faignond, Macumba, Beauté Brazza, Chez Ngambali, Mon Pays, and Léopoldville.
As music thrived in Brazzaville, accordionist Camille Feruzi, originally from Kisangani, relocated to Léopoldville at the age of 15, where he established one of the city's notable professional maringa ensembles—a quartet featuring a piano, acoustic guitar, saxophone, and Feruzi's preferred instrument, the accordion.
The music of early son cubano bands enjoyed substantial popularity domestically and abroad, which boosted the initiation of the G.V. Series by EMI on the label His Master's Voice in 1933. The G.V. series, intended for export—particularly to Africa—presumably catered to diverse audiences over time as it evolved. The global recording industry reached sub-Saharan Africa relatively late, with a handful of novelty recordings (primarily African "spirituals") from the Gold Coast, Nigeria, and South Africa preceding the First World War. By the late 1920s, international companies such as Gramophone Company, Odeon Records, and Pathé Records began competing for markets across the continent. However, economic adversity, the limited size of local markets, and the war effort constrained the development of local commercial recording until the 1940s. Records from the G.V. series were thus instrumental in the budding African recording industry, becoming some of the most widely circulated records of the 1930s. Most records listened to in Léopoldville were manufactured in Europe and imported to the Belgian Congo via Matadi, the principal port of entry. During this period, it was customary for African sailors to procure records during their travels abroad, either as gifts or for sale to friends or acquaintances. Such transactions often occurred through itinerant vendors at or near the port upon the arrival of overseas vessels. Following the advent of radio technology in the region, demand for pre-recorded music surged, prompting local merchants to recognize records as a lucrative enterprise. A Belgian radio enthusiast and entrepreneur named Hourdebise, who inaugurated the first commercial radio station in the Belgian Congo in 1939, regularly broadcast records from the G.V. series. He also allocated air time to local artists and was credited with discovering the singer-songwriter Antoine Wendo Kolosoy. Hourdebise's Radio Congoliya featured local and international news in four African languages and was the first to install loudspeakers for direct broadcasting in the African quarters of the city. Radio Congoliya's popularity spurred local merchants' interest in record sales, with major retailers in the capital, such as SEDEC Montre and Olivant, beginning to import records alongside more costly items like phonographs and radios.
In August 1941, Paul Kamba formed the Victoria Brazza ensemble in Poto-Poto, accompanied by Henri Pali Baudoin, Jacques Elenga Eboma, Jean Oddet Ekwaka, François Likundu, Moïse Dinga, Philippe Moukouami, Paul Monguele, François Lokwa, Paul Wonga, Joseph Bakalé, and Auguste Boukaka. The ensemble's rhythm section incorporated the maringa rhythm and traditional instruments, including a bass drum, a patengé, bells (reminiscent of maracas affixed to hunting dogs), double bells known as ekonga, a likembe, and modern instruments such as an accordion, a guitar, a mandolin, a banjo, and a rackett. This fusion of modern programmable sounds and the intuitive resonance of maringa with non-programmable traditional instruments emerged as a defining characteristic of the "modern Congolese rumba".
In the early 1940s, the music of Cuban son groups, such as Sexteto Habanero, Trio Matamoros, and Los Guaracheros de Oriente, was played on Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville, quickly gaining nationwide popularity. Congolese musicians began to transpose aspects of Cuban son, including piano sounds, drum patterns, and trumpet phrasing, to electric guitars and saxophones. They occasionally performed in phonetic Spanish or French. Gradually, however, they infused the music with local rhythms and melodies, progressively bestowing it with local nuances. Although maringa dance music bore no significant relation to Cuban rumba, it became known as "Congolese rumba" due to the frequent mislabeling of imported records by Sexteto Habanero and Trio Matamoros as "rumba". Various artists and groups emerged on the Congolese music scene, with Paul Kamba, Zacharie Elenga, and Antoine Wendo Kolosoy credited as pioneers. Elenga revolutionized the Congolese rumba rhythm by introducing guitar solos into the musical lineup and instituting a musical training that included a rhythm guitar, a lead guitar, a double bass, a saxophone, and percussion instruments.
The Odéon Kinois Orchestra, led by Antoine Kasongo, played a pivotal role in the development of modern Congolese rumba at the end of the 1940s, particularly in pioneering the sébène instrumental section, which was performed by guitarist Zacharie Elenga during his brief stint in the group before joining Opika.
With the support of white-owned labels like Olympia and Ngoma, Antoine Kasongo and his ensemble, supported by the vocal contributions of Ninin Jeanne and Mpia Caroline, released a series of songs, including "Libala Liboso Se Sukali", "Baloba Balemba", "Naboyaki Kobina", "Se Na Mboka", "Sebene", and "Nzungu Ya Sika". Their success coincided with the rapid urbanization of Léopoldville, where dancing bars became hubs of social activity and provided a platform for musicians to showcase their talent and connect with audiences.
Apart from their musical contributions, the Odéon Kinois Orchestra played a significant role in challenging entrenched societal norms concerning gender and race. Women's associations like L'Harmonie Kinoise and L'Odéon Kinois, sponsored by bars and music labels, provided platforms for women to express themselves freely and assert their autonomy in a male-dominated society. Led by trailblazers like Victorine Ndjoli Elongo, these associations empowered women to challenge traditional roles and expectations, paving the way for greater gender equality and social change.
While the Odéon Kinois Orchestra is credited with pioneering sébène, guitarist Henri Bowane gained prominence for popularizing the style during the 1950s. He performed a duet with Antoine Wendo Kolosoy in their hit "Marie-Louise" in 1948. He also accompanied the singer Marie Kitoto on "Ya Biso Sé Malembé" and "Yokolo". Sébène burgeoned in popularity during the ensuing decade, with Franco Luambo emerging as a leading practitioner.
According to Gary Stewart, commercial recording of local artists in Léopoldville commenced with the Belgian entrepreneur Fernand Janssens, who arrived in the Belgian Congo post-World War II with recording equipment, intending to produce records to be mastered and pressed by his Belgium-based enterprise SOBEDI. A considerable number of recordings was issued under Janssens' Olympia label (and its local Congolese subsidiaries Kongo Bina and Lomeka), and by 1948, the Olympia African catalog encompassed over 200 titles, featuring military bands, missionary choirs, and an array of records for learning Lingala. Janssens also recorded some of the most influential first-generation musicians in Léopoldville, including Wendo's Victoria Kin, Orchestre Odéon Kinois, and Camille Feruzi, which facilitated the emergence of local and foreign-owned record companies pivotal to the genre's development. The Greek entrepreneur Nico Jeronimidis converted a small storage structure behind his shop into a studio, soundproofing its interior. He procured a professional direct-to-disc recording machine and microphones from the United States. Jeronimidis named his studio Ngoma, the Kikongo term for "drum". Initially, the studio endeavored to record traditional music, but the logistical and financial burdens of transporting and compensating large troupes proved prohibitive, and the new recording technology was ill-suited to traditional music's extensive performances. Traditional bands, accustomed to prolonged play without interruption, faced constraints as the recorder's cutter head reached the disc's center within three minutes. Smaller, contemporary groups, whose compositions were more adaptable to the medium's limitations, proved more suitable. The three-minute format necessitated tighter structural discipline, aligning with the "European-style, workaday world of the city".
Shortly after Ngoma's inauguration in 1948, Jeronimidis encountered Henri Bowane, who introduced Wendo to the studio and recorded several songs. Musicians under contract reportedly received a monthly stipend for exclusive services plus three to four hundred Belgian francs per recorded composition. Wendo's chart-topping hit "Marie-Louise", co-written with guitarist Henri Bowane and produced by Ngoma, achieved significant success, selling over two million copies. A few months after its debut, a pervasive rumor circulated across the Belgian Congo, positing that Wendo's "angel voice" possessed the mystical ability to summon the apparition of a "missing beauty". This sudden surge of fame sparked concern among colonial authorities, who were grappling with the resurgence of Kimbanguism, a mystical independence movement spearheaded by Simon Kimbangu. The latter, of the same Bakongo ethnic group as the singer, had proclaimed the "négritude of God", which earned him imprisonment but also garnered immense national recognition. Jeronimidis and Wendo embarked on an extensive tour across the country, traveling in a blue Ngoma van, fitted with roof-mounted speakers—a sight immortalized on the cover of the compact disc Ngoma: The Early Years, 1948–1960 (Popular African Music). This established Léopoldville as a hub of Congolese rumba "musical leadership", buoyed by the advent of the recording industry and studios operated by priests and production units affiliated with Greek traders, alongside the advent of new 45rpm pressing technology, which allowed musicians to extend recordings. Paul Kamba and his Victoria Brazza traversed the Congo River to make their debut record at Ngoma. Jeronimidis also signed Camille Feruzi and several singer-guitarists, including Manoka De Saio, Adou Elenga, Léon Bukasa, Manuel D'Oliveira, and Georges Edouard, who formed the ensemble San Salvador. The Ngoma studio thrived as wartime memories receded and the late 1940s heralded a promising new decade. Brazzaville's populace nearly doubled from approximately 45,000 in 1940 to around 84,000 by 1950, while Léopoldville's population surged from 50,000 to over 200,000 in the same period. The twin capitals, invigorated by new immigrants with employment and disposable income, bristled with opportunities for the entertainment industry.
A Belgian guitarist named Bill Alexandre, who had honed his craft in the jazz clubs of Brussels during the Nazi occupation and performed alongside luminaries such as Django Reinhardt, eventually settled in Léopoldville and established CEFA (Compagnie d'Énregistrements Folkloriques Africains). Alexandre is credited with introducing the electric guitar to the Belgian Congo. Local musicians were enthralled by his gleaming Gibson guitar and his use of a plectrum. Alexandre would tour Léopoldville with his musicians in a van equipped with loudspeakers broadcasting CEFA releases.
Opika, which means "hold steady", or "stand firm" in Lingala, was another pioneering record label in the Belgian Congo. It played a critical role in recording and promoting Congolese rumba as well as music from other countries such as Cameroon and Ghana. The label was founded in 1949 by two Jewish entrepreneurs, Gabriel Moussa Benatar and Joseph Benatar, originally from the island of Rhodes in Greece. Among their signings was Zacharie Elenga, who formed a duo with singer Paul Mwanga. Together, they recorded hit songs like "Henriette" and "Ondruwe", which had widespread commercial success in the Congo and across the broader region. British journalist and researcher Andy Morgan described Elenga's music as "wild and combustible", noting that he "became a youth hero, a musical revolutionary who helped to define a blueprint for Congolese rumba that still applies". Opika was also the first label to sign Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele, popularly known as Le Grand Kallé, who would go on to form the band African Jazz.
By the early 1950s, local artists associated with eclectic Congolese labels owned by White settlers, such as Ngoma, Opika, and CEFA, began producing a similar style of Congolese rumba reminiscent of the hit "Marie-Louise". This style, often characterized by a slower tempo and minimal distinctions between orchestras, included works like Antoine Moundanda's "Paul Kamba Atiki Biso" (1950) and "Mabele Ya Paulo" (1953), released under Ngoma. Meanwhile, Ngoma-produced Adou Elenga's "Tout Le Monde Samedi Soir", an adaptation of a West African coastal hit, showcased a fusion of palm-wine guitar techniques from Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the two-finger guitar style prevalent in Shaba (now Katanga) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Ngoma also released Moundanda's 1953 smash hit "Mwana Aboyi Mama", a lament infused with likembe, guitar, flute, clarinet, and bass, which achieved unprecedented success, becoming the first Congolese rumba song to be awarded the Osborn Award by the Journal of the African Music Society in then-Union of South Africa (now South Africa) for Best Recording of African Music. By 1954, as anti-colonial sentiments grew in the Belgian Congo, Congolese rumba became intertwined with political activism. Adou Elenga's "Mokili Ekobaluka"—colloquially recognized as "Ata Ndele" and produced by Ngoma—emerged as a revolutionary anthem. The song's lyrics, particularly the refrain "Ata ndele mokili ekobaluka, ata ndele mondele akosukwama" (Lingala for "sooner or later the world will change, sooner or later the whites will be kicked out"), were perceived as a direct challenge to colonial rule. As a result, Elenga faced imprisonment, but his song contributed to the growing discourse on independence and the genre's role in shaping public sentiment.
That same year, the Papadimitriou brothers from Macedonia, Basile and Athanase, founded the Loningisa label and studio. Both brothers were fluent in Lingala and enjoyed widespread popularity among the Congolese populace. Basile, known for singing in the shop where he sold pagnes, was married to Marie Kitoko, a Congolese singer. One of Loningisa's early protégés was a "young, handsome, sharply dressed street kid" named François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi, better known as Franco Luambo. The Bana Loningisa (children of Loningisa), as the Loningisa session players were dubbed, performed regularly at a local venue called the OK Bar, named after its owner, Oscar Kashama. In early 1956, the Bana Loningisa rebranded themselves as OK Jazz in homage to their new employer and in recognition of their affinity for Americana, particularly Western music. Under Luambo's leadership, OK Jazz evolved into a musical academy of sorts, a finishing school for talent that counted among its alumni many of the great names in Congolese music: Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta, Youlou Mabiala, Sam Mangwana, Dizzy Mandjeku, Josky Kiambukuta, Ntesa Dalienst, Djo Mpoyi, and many others.
These record labels also provided the Belgian Congo a substantial platform for the proliferation and cultivation of homegrown bands, such as African Jazz, OK Jazz, Conga Jazz, and Negro Band. Although the band names frequently included the word "jazz", Martin notes that "the essential musical inspiration came from African and Latin American roots". The name was used because young men were bedazzled by the American soldiers, especially African Americans, who were based at a military camp in Léopoldville during the Second World War. Scholars such as Isaac A. Kamola of Trinity College and Shiera S. el-Malik of DePaul University suggest that these Congolese "jazz" ensembles exhibited minimal musical affinity with American jazz, interpreting the appropriation as "identification with another culturally vibrant yet politically under-represented population" and that it symbolized a form of modernity that deviated from Eurocentric norms. This hybridity and foreign essence ensured that Congolese rumba did not align exclusively with "any particular tradition, region, or grouping" and allowed "Congolese rumba a broad and shared appeal".
The abrogation of all exclusivity contracts—a significant triumph—paved the way for Congolese entrepreneurs to establish their own record companies. Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele, commonly known as Le Grand Kallé, became the first Congolese musician to establish his own music label, under the name Surboum African Jazz, with financial backing from Léopoldville-based Congolese distribution and publishing company ECODIS (Edition Congolaise du Disque), the Congo-Decca group (a subsidiary of Decca West Africa Limited, owned by Decca Records), and the Belgian record company FONIOR, based in Brussels. The label's inauguration took place in Brussels during Le Grand Kallé's participation in the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference on Congolese independence. Le Grand Kallé capitalized on his stay in Brussels to record several pieces with the accompaniment of Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango. The advent of Surboum African Jazz enabled Le Grand Kallé to produce several other orchestras, including OK Jazz in 1961. During his trip to Brussels on behalf of Surboum African Jazz, OK Jazz recorded a series of hits for Le Grand Kallé: "Amida Muziki Ya OK", "Nabanzi Zozo", "Maria De Mi Vida", "Motema Ya Fafa", and others. The revenue generated from the sale of these records allowed OK Jazz to acquire brand-new musical equipment. Consequently, numerous music publishing houses, managed either by musicians or private individuals, proliferated in the early 1960s, including Epanza Makita, Editions Populaires, Eve, La Musette, ISA, Vita, Londende, Macquis, Parions, Mamaky, Boboto, Super Contact, and many more.
By the mid-1950s, a schism emerged between musicians receptive to foreign influences and those rooted in traditional Congolese rumba. This divergence led to the formation of two schools of modern Congolese rumba: the African Jazz School and the OK Jazz School. In 1957, these schools made significant advancements to the genre, with OK Jazz embracing a style known as odemba, characterized by a fast tempo and influenced by the rhythm from the Mongo folklore of Mbandaka, along the Congo River. Meanwhile, the African Jazz School introduced "rumba-rock", which had a faster tempo, with jazz and Afro-Cuban "accents in the arrangements". African Jazz also introduced tumba drums and electronic instruments. Classics like "Afrika Mokili Mobimba" made them one of Africa's most prominent bands, with its "loopy-riffing guitars, peculiar drum and bass grooves that lock in while twisting the beat, and horn parts that tell little melodic stories of their own."
During this period, guitarist Faugus Izeidi of African Fiesta Le Peuple, formerly of the African Jazz School, pioneered the mi-solo guitar, filling a role between the lead and rhythm guitars. Franco Luambo, guitarist and bandleader of OK Jazz, characterized his mi-solo style with arpeggio patterns and fingerpicking techniques. American music journalist Morgan Greenstreet noted that former African Jazz School member Docteur Nico became a groundbreaking guitarist in Congolese music history with his fiesta style, drawing on traditional Baluba melodies and rhythms from his home village of Mikalayi. Meanwhile, Franco Luambo and the OK Jazz School transformed the sebene into the central element of Congolese music, as opposed to merely a departure between choruses, with Franco's odemba style being "rougher, more repetitive and rooted in rhythms that moved the hips of dancers at Kinshasa's hottest clubs."
In 1969, a collective of students, spearheaded by Papa Wemba, Jossart N'Yoka Longo, and Félix Manuaku Waku, emerged as Zaïko Langa Langa, introducing a third school of Congolese rumba, characterized by an unconventional structure, abrupt movements, and elements described as "jerky and complex in [their] basic contributions". The group was most influential in the 1970s, popularizing distinctive features such as variations in drum tempo, snare drum usage, sebène, and an entertainment ensemble comprising atalaku, a unified choir, a soloist, and soukous "shocked" dance, characterized by intricate body movements.
The band Wenge Musica emerged as the fourth school in the late 1980s and 1990s, with their rapid hip movements and body swaying, occasionally accompanied by abrupt gestures. Playing mainly soukous and Congolese rumba, they were instrumental in pioneering ndombolo dance music and dominated the scene until 1997, when the band split into two factions: Wenge Musica Maison Mère, led by Werrason, and Wenge BCBG, by JB Mpiana. Over the years, the ensemble spun off several musicians, including Héritier Watanabe, Fabregas Le Métis Noir, Robinio Mundibu, Ferré Gola, Tutu Callugi, Alain Mpela, Adolphe Dominguez, Marie Paul Kambulu, and Ricoco Bulambemba.
In the late years of colonial rule, many musicians sought to express their dissenting messages and daily tribulations through various forms of art, such as plastic arts, street theatre productions, literary compositions, and music. On 27 January 1960, Le Grand Kallé and his band, Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, performed their Congolese rumba-infused song "Indépendance Cha Cha" at the Hotel Plaza in Brussels to celebrate the officialization of the Congo's independence from Belgian rule, which was granted on 30 June 1960. Sung in Lingala, it became a celebratory song of independence in various parts of French-speaking Africa and was played at various events, festivities, and gatherings, especially when Congolese artists were present, due to its popularity among subsequent generations. According to Belgian researcher Matthias De Groof, "Indépendance Cha Cha" still stands today as a "symbol of the Congolese independence and Congolese rumba music." Notably, the song was included in the "100 Greatest African Songs of All Time" by the Kenyan weekly magazine Daily Nation.
By the latter half of 1960, Congolese rumba was an established genre in most of Central Africa, and it would also impact the music of South, West and East Africa. Certain artists who had performed in Franco Luambo and Grand Kalle's bands went on to establish their own ensembles, such as Tabu Ley Rochereau and Nico Kasanda, who formed African Fiesta in 1963. Kasanda's faction, including Charles Déchaud Mwamba, went on to create a new ensemble called African Fiesta Sukisa. Paradoxically, despite these schisms, many musicians continued to release records that dominated discos, bars, and clubs across Africa. In April 1966, Les Bantous de la Capitale and Ok Jazz became the first Congolese rumba bands to perform at the inaugural World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal. By 1967, African Fiesta Sukisa had assembled a powerhouse of vocalists and instrumentalists, but what set them apart were the three guitarists—Nico, his brother Dechaud, and De La France—who had become a defining characteristic of Congolese rumba. Les Bantous featured Gerry Gérard, Samba Mascott, and Mpassy Mermans, while Franco Luambo collaborated with Simaro Lutumba and Brazzos as well as several of its successors. Rochereau enlisted Jean Paul "Guvano" Vangu, Faugus Izeidi, and Johnny Bokasa in his Fiesta, and Dewayon worked with Ray Braynck and Henri Bowole in Cobantou. This practice gave rise to the term "mi-solo", to designate the third guitar, which played between the solo (lead) guitar and the (rhythm) accompaniment. Subsequently, Rochereau and Roger Izeidi departed from the band to establish African Fiesta National. Others, such as Mujos and Depuissant, left to join different musical collectives; they were later joined by Papa Wemba and Sam Mangwana. In July–August 1969, Les Bantous de la Capitale and the Bamboula Orchestra were among the musicians participating in the Premier Festival Culturel Panafricain d'Alger, a celebration of African identity and culture to facilitate interaction between liberation movements and promoting the newly independent Algeria as a continental leader.
While Congolese rumba exerted influence on bands such as African Jazz and OK Jazz, a band from Brazzaville, Orchestre Sinza Kotoko, sought to attenuate this influence and embrace a faster-paced soukous style, starting in 1966. This emergent style was based on traditional festive Congolese rhythms, as the group often performed at weddings and malaki (communal cultural festivities). This new variant of Congolese rumba, with its percussive bass mimicking percussion, was notable for its emphasis on sebène, designed to get listeners dancing. Unlike rumba songs, which contained a story sung before the sebène, soukous songs omitted the story in favor of the dance. Meanwhile, rumba bands like Zaïko Langa Langa introduced distinct elements into the genre, including variances in percussive tempo, utilization of snare drums, a new sebène guitar technique, and a performance ensemble comprising atalaku, a harmonized choir, and a soloist. Soukous achieved international prominence as numerous musicians moved abroad during the late 1970s due to the economic downturn in Zaire. Other Zairean artists, such as Tabu Ley Rochereau, M'bilia Bel, Kanda Bongo Man, Pépé Kallé, Syran Mbenza, Franklin Boukaka, Bozi Boziana, Evoloko Jocker, Rigo Star, Josky Kiambukuta, Diblo Dibala, Jolie Detta, Dindo Yogo, Gaby Lita Bembo, and Koffi Olomide garnered substantial followings in the United States, Europe, and across Africa.
During the 1970s, a considerable contingent of prominent Zairean musicians moved to Paris due to economic hardship and the country's underdeveloped music industry. The oppressive reign of the autocratic dictator Mobutu Sese Seko instilled weariness among artists toward the constraints of Kinshasa's public sphere, compelling them to seek alternative audiences. In December 1970, Tabu Ley Rochereau became the first Congolese rumba artist and the first African artist to headline one of Paris's major concert venues, the Olympia. Despite concerns about how the French audience would receive their music, the concert was a success and significantly boosted Rochereau's international career. The performance spurred the venue to book other Zairean musicians, including Abeti Masikini, on 19 February 1973, which significantly elevated her status back in Zaire. Consequently, Congolese rumba and its offshoot soukous garnered acclaim across the Western world and the Caribbean during this epoch. Notably, Joséphine M'boualé, alias Joséphine Bijou, emerged as the first Congolese rumba female guitarist to perform in Havana in early 1974, followed by the orchestra Les Bantous de la Capitale in 1974, 1975, and 1978.
The three-day Zaire 74 music festival emphasized the significance of internationalism in music in Africa and beyond. It featured American artists like James Brown, B. B. King, Bill Withers, and the Spinners, as well as international ones like Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, and Zairian musicians like Tabu Ley Rochereau, Abeti Masikini, Franco Luambo & OK Jazz, and Zaïko Langa Langa. Alongside acts of cultural diplomacy like Sister Sledge teaching young African girls how to dance the bump, Americans and other Westerners witnessed and celebrated the musical performances and genres of Congolese and other African artists that thrilled local populations.
By the late 1970s, a wave of Zairean musicians began to make their way to Paris. Some went for short recording stays, while others made it a permanent base. Péla Nsimba, a guitarist and singer who had garnered acclaim in Zaire during the late 1960s and early 1970s with his ensemble Thu Zahina, arrived in 1977. The emergence of specialized record stores catering to African music burgeoned in the mid-1970s, exemplified by Afric Music in Montparnasse. In 1976, Eddy Gustave, a jazz musician from Martinique, opened a record shop near Père Lachaise Cemetery, where he sold Caribbean and African music. In 1978, Gustave moved into production and began inviting musicians from Zaire to come to Paris to record.
Meanwhile, in Africa, Zaïko Langa Langa became "the leader of a new generation of orchestras". The band's drummer, Meridjo Belobi, gained popularity and is credited for inventing a dance craze named cavacha, rooted in the Congolese traditional rhythm.
With increasing sociopolitical upheaval in Zaire in the 1980s, numerous musicians sought refuge in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Colombia, and a significant number migrated to Paris, Brussels, and London. However, throughout this period, Franco Luambo's music became an integral component of Mobutu's political propaganda. Luambo composed a Congolese rumba breakout song titled "Candidat Na Biso Mobutu" ("our candidate Mobutu") in support of Mobutu's contrived presidential re-election campaign (where Mobutu was the sole candidate) in 1984. The song exhorted Zairean citizens to "Shout loud like thunder/For the Marshal's candidacy/Mobutu Sese Seko", while warning the central committee to "beware of sorcerers"—a euphemism for those opposing the dictator. The record earned Luambo a gold disc for one million units sold.
Paris emerged as a hub for soukous musicians, serving as a crossroads where other African and European music styles, synthesizers, and production values could feed into the sound. Consequently, soukous garnered an eclectic international following, with Zairean performers in Paris and London navigating the demands of European, African, and Caribbean markets. Artists like Papa Wemba profited from an international following that praised his musical compositions. With the growing international popularity of soukous in the 1980s, lyrics began to deal with a broader range of topics not limited to life in the DRC and the Republic of the Congo. In 1985, Luambo and OK Jazz, now rebranded as TPOK Jazz, released their Congolese rumba-infused album Mario, which enjoyed immediate success, with the eponymous hit single achieving gold certification after selling over 200,000 copies in Zaire. The song became one of Luambo's most significant hits. Zaïko Langa Langa subsequently became the first Congolese band to appear on TF1 in 1987, during a television show presented by Christophe Dechavanne. In June 1987, the band became finalists in the Référendum RFI Canal tropical, securing second place among Afro-Caribbean groups, behind Kassav. Meanwhile, Les Bantous de la Capitale became the favored Congolese rumba orchestra of Gabonese president Omar Bongo, receiving an official invitation to perform during the 20th-anniversary celebrations of Renovation Day in Libreville, held in March 1988.
Concurrently, Congolese choreographer Jeanora pioneered a dance form called kwassa kwassa, a dance step within the soukous style (with kwassa serving as a playful allusion to the French interrogative "C'est quoi ça?" – "What's that?"). This dance form was adopted by many artists and was notably popularized by Kanda Bongo Man and Abeti Masikini, during her performance at the Zenith de Paris.
Pépé Kallé and his band Empire Bakuba, co-founded with Papy Tex, rose to prominence across Africa with their stripped-down, baritone, and high-octane renditions of Luambo and Rochereau's music, earning Pépé Kallé nicknames such as "La Bombe Atomique" (borrowed from Empire Bakuba's self-titled album) and "the Elephant of Zaire", due to his impressive size and performance style. His music often featured intricate guitar work and vibrant rhythms, hallmarks of soukous, aiding in the genre's popularization on both continental and international stages. Nevertheless, Kallé further distinguished himself with his use of double entendre, deploying incisive commentary on the everyday challenges faced by his compatriots.
Emerging at the end of the 1990s and drawing inspiration from Congolese rumba and soukouss, ndombolo became a popular and danceable fast-paced, hip-swaying dance music in Africa. Defined by its spirited sébéné or "heated part", ndombolo featured vocal entertainment by atalakus and swirling guitar riffs. Although initiated by Radja Kula in 1995, it was notably popularized and refined in the 1990s by Wenge Musica and Koffi Olomide.
In December 2021, Congolese rumba was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
While the genre's influence reverberated throughout Africa, the spectacle of female artists taking the stage and expressing their melodic abilities was a rarity, as song composition and performance were predominantly the domain of male artists. In the 1930s, up-and-coming female vocalists like Nathalie and Emma Louise laid the groundwork for the emergence of female artists in Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Despite remaining largely anonymous due to limited documentation, they are regarded as prominent figures in the Congolese music scene. In the 1940s, artists such as Gabrielle Maleka and Anne Mbassou made significant contributions to the evolving sound of Congolese rumba as part of Paul Kamba's Victoria Brazza ensemble. By the 1950s, women singers emerged as powerful voices with momentous messages about amorous entanglements, protection, and ordinary struggles, and successes. Martha Badibala, Tekele Mokango, Anne Ako, Ester Sudila, Léonine Mbongo, Joséphine Sambeya, Jeanne Ninin, and Caroline Mpia became influential in sculpting the genre during this transformative epoch. Marie Kitoto became prominent through her exuberant and mellifluous vocalism in chart-toppers like "Mbokamosika". Meanwhile, Lucie Eyenga distinguished herself in African Jazz through her vocal dexterity and later in the fusion of Rock-a-Mambo and African Jazz. Despite her popularity, Lucie Eyenga was not primarily recognized as a vocalist but as the hostess of female recreational associations, occasionally performing in bars.
Throughout the metamorphosing musical terrain, women persistently occupied crucial positions in various studios and record labels. Cameroonian singer Marcelle Ebibi, for instance, introduced electric guitar rhythms to the genre with her opus "Mama é", chaperoned by her fiancé Guy Léon Fylla and Belgian guitarist Bill Alexandre. In the 1970s, Abeti Masikini and her troupe Les Tigresses gained critical acclaim for their performance at the Olympia Hall in Paris in 1973 and Carnegie Hall in New York in June 1974, and sharing the stage with James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Franco Luambo, among others, during the Zaire 74 music festival. Abeti's second album, La voix du Zaire, l'idole de l'Afrique, released in 1975, with hits such as "Likayabo", "Yamba Yamba", "Kiliki Bamba", "Naliku Penda", and "Ngoyaye Bella Bellow", elevated her popularity, especially in West Africa. Her band, Les Redoutables, served as a launching pad for numerous female and male musicians, including M'bilia Bel, Lokua Kanza, and Tshala Muana. Another prominent female artist of this era was Marie Bélè, alias "Marie Bella", who infused Congolese rumba with interpretations of her ethnic folklore rhythms from the Congo Basin Department. Her critically acclaimed hits "Ofini A Tsenguè" and "Itouyi Kambi", recorded across Africa and China, garnered substantial popularity. She was a participant in the 1977 second edition of the World Festival of Black Arts in Lagos, Nigeria, accompanied by Joséphine Bijou and Carmen Essou.
The 1976 release of M'Pongo Love's song "Pas Possible Mati" is recognized as one of the best female compositions in Congolese rumba. In early 1984, Tshala Muana recorded several albums—Kami, Mbanda Matière, and M'Pokolo—for the Safari Ambiance label. Through her albums and performances, she popularized the mutuashi rhythm, a Luba traditional dance characterized by pronounced hip rotations. Her 1988 single "Karibu Yangu" gained traction across East Africa, fostering the introduction of new female artists such as Faya Tess and Barbara Kanam.
Concurrently, alongside secular Congolese rumba, Christian-infused renditions of the genre emerged as a potent avenue for female expression. Ensembles such as Les Makoma played a pivotal role in establishing the presence of female gospel artists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including Deborah Lukalu, Sandra Mbuyi, and Dena Mwana.
African music has been popular in Colombia since the 1970s and has had a significant impact on the local musical genre known as champeta. In the mid-1970s, a group of sailors introduced records from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria to Colombia, including a plate-numbered 45 RPM titled El Mambote by Congo's l'Orchestre Veve, which gained popularity when played by DJ Victor Conde. Record labels proactively dispatched producers to find African records that would resonate with DJs and audiences. The music gained traction, especially in economically underprivileged urban areas, predominantly inhabited by Afro-Colombian communities, where it was incorporated into sound systems at parties across cities such as Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Palenque de San Basilio.
The emergence of champeta involved replicating musical arrangements by Congolese artists like Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay, Tabu Ley Rochereau, M'bilia Bel, Syran Mbenza, Lokassa Ya M'Bongo, Pépé Kallé, Rémy Sahlomon, and Kanda Bongo Man. Local artists such as Viviano Torres, Luis Towers, and Charles King, all from Palenque de San Basilio, started composing their own songs and producing unique musical arrangements, while still maintaining the Congolese soukous influence, a derivative of Congolese rumba. They composed and sang in their native language, Palenquero, a creole mix of Spanish and Bantu languages like Kikongo and Lingala.
Champeta's sound is intimately intertwined with Congolese rumba, particularly the soukous style, sharing the same rhythmic foundation. The guitar and the use of the Casio brand synthesizer for sound effects are instrumental in shaping champeta's distinct sound.
During the Super Bowl LIV halftime show on 2 February 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Shakira danced to the song "Icha" by Syran Mbenza, accompanied by several dancers. The track is colloquially known as "El Sebastián" in Colombia. Shakira's performance inspired the #ChampetaChallenge on various social media platforms.
The Congolese rumba dance called ndombolo has significantly impacted coupé-décalé dance music with the incorporation of atalaku, a term referencing animators or hype men who enhance the rhythm and interactivity of performances, into its songs. The first Congolese band to employ atalaku was Zaïko Langa Langa, in the 1980s. In one of their early compositions featuring these animators, the repeated chant "Atalaku! Tala! Atalaku mama, Zekete" (Look at me! Look! Look at me, mama! Zekete!) echoed, commanding attention. As coupé-décalé emerged, the Congolese rumba influence remained conspicuous. Notably, with the release of "Sagacité", Douk Saga's debut hit, the explicit imprint of atalaku was apparent. In an RFI interview, DJ Arafat, an Ivorian musician, acknowledged atalaku's influence on his artistic approach. The term has transcended its origins, becoming embedded in the lexicon of Ivory Coast and neighboring countries, though it now signifies "flattery".
With the emergence of satellite television across Africa in the early 1990s, coupled with the subsequent development and expansion of the internet across the continent in the subsequent decades, French hip hop flourished within the African francophone market. Originating in the United States, the genre rapidly gained popularity among youth of African descent in France and various other European nations. Initially molded by American hip hop, the French variant has since developed a distinct identity and sound, drawing influences from the African musical heritage shared by many French rappers.
By the late 1990s, Bisso Na Bisso, a collective of French rappers from the Republic of the Congo, pioneered the infusion of Congolese rumba rhythms into French rap. Their album Racines melds American hip hop, Congolese rumba, soukous, and zouk rhythms, featuring collaborations with African artists like Koffi Olomidé, Papa Wemba, Ismaël Lô, Lokua Kanza, and Manu Dibango, alongside the French-Caribbean zouk group Kassav'. Nearly all their thematic elements revolve around a reconnection with their roots, evident through samples sourced directly from Congolese rumba and soukous. In the early 2000s, the lingua franca of many French rap tracks was Lingala, accompanied by resonant rumba guitar riffs. Mokobé Traoré, a Malian–French rapper, further accentuated this influence on the album Mon Afrique, where he featured artists like Fally Ipupa on the soukous-inspired track "Malembe". The far-reaching impact of "Congolization" transcends hip hop, permeating other genres like French R&B and religious music, all while concurrently gaining traction across Europe and francophone Africa. Prominent artists include Youssoupha, Maître Gims, Dadju, Niska, Singuila, Damso, KeBlack, Naza, Zola, Kalash Criminel, Ninho, Kaysha, Franglish, Gradur, Shay, Bramsito, Baloji, Tiakola, and Ya Levis Dalwear—all descendants of Congolese musical lineage.
Following the establishment of Radio Congo Belge, with its extensive broadcasting reach in East, Central, and West Africa, Congolese rumba garnered an extensive audience, evolving into a central focus for East African artists to observe and emulate. According to ethnomusicology professor Alex Perullo of Bryant University, Mobutu's Zairianization movement precipitated an upsurge in the popularity of Congolese rumba in Tanzania and Kenya, and pirated albums and cassettes from Kinshasa made their way to local markets in East Africa. Congolese rumba bands, such as Orchestra Maquis Original, established their operational base in Tanzania, alongside Mzee Makassy. Proficient in executing Congolese rumba in Kiswahili, these bands exerted influence over local musicians like Simba Wanyika, Les Wanyika, Fundi Konde, Daudi Kabaka, and Fadhili William, who fused Congolese rumba rhythms with East African linguistic and cultural elements. Kenyan local bands, such as TP Luna Kidi and Limpopo International, embraced the Congolese rumba style while singing in their native language, Dholuo, interspersed with Swahili. Meanwhile, other homegrown artists heavily leaned towards the Congolese rumba style, singing entirely in Lingala, to the extent that their local languages were seemingly overshadowed. The popularity of rumba in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, coupled with the evolution of musical tastes, became a musical touchstone for older audiences, with resident bands in entertainment spots consistently including rumba in their repertoire.