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Lynda Balloni
HUM 2371: Popular Culture in Africa
Dr. Shoup
20 October 2014
Congolese Rumba
Soukous, perhaps more appropriately called Congolese Rumba, has incontestably been
the most prominent genre of African music within and outside of the continent. Thanks to the
introduction of phonographs and 78 rpms to the Belgian Congo in the 1920s, the Congolese
people were aware of Afro-Cuban rhythms and able to incorporate them into their own music,
creating this form of modern Congolese music which pairs Latin inspired beats with a distinctly
African elements. Its popularity throughout Africa has at least in part been due to the lack of
European influence on its characteristic Cuban influenced Central African sound, at least until
the dawn of the Parisian Soukous scene during the 1980s. Congolese Rumba also often uses
Lingala, a trade language, for its lyrics, thus solidifying its appeal throughout Africa over music
that uses any language of a specific tribe which decreases its Pan-African appeal or any
European languages associated with the colonial era (Zaire’s population alone speaks over 250
languages ("The Rumba Region." 128-129)). Its even more universal appeal can be attributed to
its use of electric guitars to replace the piano parts of Cuban Rumba and its appealing and
difficult-to-duplicate balance of a smooth sound that is still high-energy. This music also
emerged while Zaire had just gained its independence and was experiencing an economic boom,
so spirits throughout the country were running high and people were ready for a new, upbeat
musical genre. A distinctive feature of Congolese rumba is the seben, an improvised
instrumental section of the song when the slow rumba is broken down in favor of a stronger
guitar sound very conducive to dancing ("Central and East Africa - Heart of Danceness: The
Music of Zaire" 317). Its unique qualities were irresistible to people throughout Africa, and
later, areas in the Western world and Japan as well.

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Although in his brief article “Soukous”, Gregory F. Barz describes this music as a
“generic term for Central African dance music, more specifically in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo,” the term Soukous as it is used in the DRC in fact only refers to one specific offshoot
of the genre from the late 1960s. Another term used in the Western world to describe Congolese
Rumba is rumba-rock, but a using a combination of Spanish and English words as a means of
naming African music takes away from the significance of its origins. A large number of
African languages do not even have one generic word for music, so people of Zaire occasionally
refer to what Westerners like to describe as Soukous as “misiki nu biso” or “the language of our
people”, but even this description in Lingala must rely on a Lingala-ized version of the French
word “musique” ("Central and East Africa - Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire." 313-314).
The phrase “la musique moderne” is also used to distinguish Congolese Rumba music from
religious or simply more traditional Zairean music, but no widely-used universal term actually
exists (White 156). The most all-encompassing term for this music that will hereby be used for
the remainder this is Congolese Rumba.
Although Congolese Rumba developed into at least three distinct genres throughout its
history with a plethora of other variations, one element that has been universally pivotal to its
essence from the beginning is its relationship with dance. Initially, simple dances that
incorporated hip movements and shifting of balance such as the maringa and agbwaya were
popular and provided a basis for more distinguished and complex moves. As the music and
dance scene developed, dances such as the rumba-boucher, kiri-kiri, kwasa-kwasa, cavacha,
sundama, and madiaba, amongst many others, became widespread supplements to Congolese
Rumba music whose memorability often eclipsed that of the specific songs they were intended to
compliment ("Central and East Africa - Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire." 313). Due to

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its importance within Congolese Rumba, Zaire without question became the frontrunner of “La
Danse Afrique” (Graham 109).
Popular dance music in the Belgian Congo originated amongst its migrant workers in the
1930s and 1940s who were forced by its colonizers to move to work camps or cities to excavate
the colony’s abundant minerals where they were exposed to workers from other parts of the
Congo as well as foreign countries(“The Rumba Region” 126). This mingling of people from
diverse regions created a new social scene, from which the roots of modern Congolese music
were born. Congolese Rumba began to emerge only a decade after Radio Congo Belge was
launched and around the same time, an abundant number of record labels started to appear
throughout Zaire. The most influential of this first wave of recording studios included Olympia
(the pioneer, opening in 1939), Ngoma (1948), Opika (1950), Loningasa (1950) and Esengo
(1957) (130). The new and flourishing music scene was able to spread throughout most of
Africa as Radio Brazzaville, which played four hours of Zairean music every day, had strong
transmitters capable of spreading its waves throughout the entire continent. Congolese Rumba
initiated its transcontinental popularity in the mid-1960s when Joseph “La Grand Kalle”
Kabasele, founding member and front man of African Jazz, established his own record label
(Surboum African Jazz) and started to work with European labels. His transition into European
studios started a trend of Zairean musicians working in Europe, leading to higher quality
recordings and the beginning of European tours by Congolese Rumba performers which
originated with OK Jazz’s concerts at African bars in Belgium such as Matit and Wangatta.
Other musicians chose instead to tour and record within different countries throughout East and
West Africa, spreading Zairean music’s influence within the continent (Graham 110). Whether

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it was to Europe or other areas in Africa, Zairean musicians’ decision to branch out from their
home country assisted in Congolese Rumba’s increased popularity abroad.
The development of Congolese Rumba can in part be attributed to the Belgian musician
Bill Alexandre who brought the first electric guitar to the Belgian Congo and introduced Zairean
people to the “finger-picking” style of playing, rather than strumming as was popular until his
influence hit. Some Zairean “forefathers” of Congolese Rumba include Feruzi, Antoine Wendo,
and Jimmy, Zachery and Adou Elenga (the first Zairean musician to use an electric guitar), but
the “Golden Age” of this music began in 1953 with the formation of African Jazz (as fronted by
Joseph “La Grande Kalle” Kabasele) and the 15 year old guitar prodigy “Franco” Luambo
Makiandi’s (later a founder of OK Jazz) first time in Loningisa recording studio. African Jazz
and Orchestra Kinois (OK) Jazz would exist in healthy competition as the pioneers and most
popular and influential players in the first wave of Congolese Rumba from OK’s founding in
1956 until African Jazz broke up in 1963 (Graham 110). OK Jazz continued to flourish and all
of Africa was shaken by the untimely deaths of both Grand Kalle and Franco (in 1983 and 1989,
respectively). While OK Jazz were known for their musical elements being inherited from
Congolese folklore, thus maintaining a more “traditional” Congolese sound, African Jazz drew
more of their inspiration from Europe, with Kalle recording songs with lyrics in French, Spanish,
and even sometimes English. However, African Jazz cemented their position of popularity
throughout all of Africa with their 1960 hit (the year Belgian Congo gained its independence)
“Independence Cha Cha Cha”, which struck a tone with the entire continent as most African
countries had either recently gained or were hopeful to achieve their independence ("Central and
East Africa - Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire" 315-318). In response to accusations that
Congolese Rumba is not “original”, Franco very clearly articulates the freshness of his country’s

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modern musical style and alludes to the African influence on Cuban music which later inspired
the Congolese: “Many people think they hear a Latin sound in our music. Maybe they are
thinking of the horns. Yet the horns are only playing vocal parts in our singing style. The
melody follows the tonality of Lingala, the guitar parts are African and so is the rumba rhythm.
Where is the Latin?” (“The Rumba Region” 131). Despite some sound arguments that Kanda
Bongo Man has some of the most Westernized sound out of all the Zairean musicians, he made a
related point in saying that “Zairean music has to move; the problem is that Senegalese, Malian,
and Gambian music are seen as roots music and as such they are promoted with that paternalistic
bias, whilst popular African music, like ours, is seen as dropping all things African from it. They
do not have any idea of what African music is” (Graham 128). From its first wave in the 1950s
and 1960s to its Europeanized counterpart Parisian Soukous of the 1980s and 1990s, Congolese
Rumba musicians were incredibly proud of the originality and “African-ness” of their sound.
Another important part of Congolese Rumba’s popularity and identity within its home
state was its role in President Mobutu’s authenticite program: an effort to unite the newly
independent country, which had been immersed in ethnic and tribal conflict since it gained its
independence. Mobutu believed that the presence of “authentic” Congolese music in the country
would assist in creating a shared Congolese identity, thus fostering cooperation amongst its tribes
as well as ushering out the colonial Belgian influence. Franco was a particularly important
figure in Mobutu’s movement, despite his bold willingness to criticize the state in his music to
the point of having certain records banned and serving jail time ("Central and East Africa - Heart
of Danceness: The Music of Zaire" 316-318). Music and politics shaped each other in Zaire,
particularly within the relationship between President Mobutu and OK Jazz.

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By the 1970s, Kinshasa (the capital of Zaire) was such a bustling musical hub that many
musicians felt it would be more conducive to their success to branch out and record in other
areas than to attempt to compete with the established groups in the area. Baba Gaston, Real
Sounds, Orchestra Makassy, and Orchestra Viranga flourished in East Africa while Ryco Jazz
headed first to Sierra Leone, then Martinique, and later the French Antilles. Meanwhile, the
groups who stayed in Zaire were highly influenced by Western rock groups, causing a transition
from the large, orchestral bands of the 1960s to smaller groups in part characterized by a seben
featuring “spiraling, interactive guitars” and “rattling snare drums”. Bands that emerged during
this period included Thu-Zaire, Stukas, and the most prominent and inspirational of the bunch,
Zaiko Langa Langa. Zaiko was fairly unique amongst Congolese Rumba groups in that it did not
have one charismatic front man or leader, but brought up careers of many talented musicians
who would start as Zaiko members, but then move on to start their own projects, ie, Papa
Wemba, Evoloko Jocker, and Pepe Feli Manuaku, amongst others ("Central and East Africa -
Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire" 318). Zaiko were likely the most popular band in Zaire
that emerged in the second phase of Congolese Rumba, but they never quite took off
internationally due to a combination of undisclosed reasons that promoters failing to support
them, conflict within the group, and defective management (Graham 117). Still, their popularity
within Zaire immortalized them as one of the most important bands throughout the broad world
of Congolese Rumba.
While Congolese Rumba was a success throughout Africa during its first and second
incarnations in during the 1950s through the 1970s, it did not really see global success until the
mid-1980s. Once Zairean musicians began to record in Parisian studios owned by Europeans
who “edged out the less polished Kinshasa variants”, Zairean bands including Quatres Etoiles

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and Mbila Bel flourished in the European market ("Central and East Africa - Heart of Danceness:
The Music of Zaire." 319). The watered-down, Westernized version of Congolese Rumba that
came out of this era was described by Graeme Ewens as the “fast-food version of Zaire’s musical
haute cuisine” with Kanda Bongo Man at the forefront of this sub-genre ("Central and East
Africa - Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire." 322). Despite his international popularity,
Kanda Bongo Man found success mostly only in his live performances, while his record sales
never flourished. After his 1990 tour in Australia, he remarked that “When you see a turnout
like that you have to ask yourself why can’t we sell more records? I will never know what the
record companies are doing. With such a number of people and they can’t sell 3,000 records.
Crazy,” (Graham 128). Like Papa Wemba, he held an appreciation for Japan which stemmed
from his popularity in the country which he commented on after his 1989 tour: “They buy more
African records, treat us with more respect than those we’ve had a relationship going hundreds of
years with,” (128). Kanda may have been shunted in sales, but by the early 1990s, Zairean
musicians held 14 of the spots in London’s African Top 15 chart (“The Rumba Region 126).
Congolese Rumba had penetrated the European market, at least much more so than music from
other African countries at the same.
Although Franco was the most loved Zairean musician throughout all of Africa, Papa
Wemba must be the most iconic. His sapeaur movement (derived from the Societe des
Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegants) essentially turned high fashion into a religion with
Japanese and European designers, especially Youji Yamamoto and Jean-Paul Gaultier, as its
deities. Even though he openly admits that he started the movement as a gimmick to enhance his
success by differentiating himself from other musicians and still considers himself a “singer over
sapeaur”, Wemba’s movement was shockingly popular in and outside Central Africa, especially

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in Japan. An abundance of Japanese tourists visiting Zaire in 1984 paired with Papa Wemba
befriending a Japanese ambassador in 1986 assured some success within the country which he
perpetuated by visiting Japan at least once every year from 1986 onwards and signing with a
Japanese label. Although he appreciated his international success, Papa Wemba stressed the
importance of Africa as a diverse and significant region and its impact on his indentity. To
counteract some dangerous misconceptions about the continent, he declared that “You
sometimes get the impression that Africa is a trend – somebody was saying it’s a sort of fashion
that will pass. We are not a fashion! We’re a whole continent which lives and has ancient
traditions” ("Central and East Africa - Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire." 320-321). His
music and iconography played an essential role in Congolese Rumba’s domestic and global
identity.
Unfortunately, after 1991 the music scene within Zaire began to deteriorate due to the
onset of copious violence and as Ewens puts it “the vibrant ambiance of the Matonge music
district was frighteningly muted” (313). Most musicians chose to embark on foreign tours, but
OK Jazz and Zaiko Langa Langa continued to perform in the country. In December of 1993,
performers including Papa Wemba and Kofi Olomide came back to Zaire from Europe and put
on a concert in Kinshasa to show that Congo Rumba was still alive and well, but the onset of the
civil war in the late 1990s further inhibited the formerly vivacious music scene to flourish as it
had in the past (313-314). Despite the tragedy within its country of origin, Congolese Rumba
will continue to thrive in legacy as well as in practice outside the bounds of its home state.
Congolese Rumba is pivotal to the popularity of African music throughout the world as
well as the most popular within the continent. Although it did not flourish outside of Africa until
it started to incorporate Western elements besides its original Cuban rhythm, the second and

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third movements of Congolese Rumba still exposed the global community to an African sound in
a way that had not been previously seen. Whether it was appealing to the people of Zaire, Pan-
African ideals, or going for a more universal audience, Congolese Rumba has been the most
admired genre African music.

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Works Cited
Ewens, Graeme. "Central and East Africa - Heart of Danceness: The Music of Zaire." World
Music: The Rough Guide. London: Penguin, 1994. 313-323. Print.
Ewens, Graeme. "The Rumba Region." Africa O-Ye! A Celebration of African Music. United
Kingdom: Guinness, 1991. 126-157. Print.
Graham, Ronnie. "Congo/Zaire." The World of African Music. London: Pluto, 1992. 107-133.
Print.
Barz, Gregory F. "Soukous." Grove Music (2007). Oxford Music Online. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
White, Bob W. "Modernity's Trickster: 'Dipping' and 'Throwing' in Congolese Popular
Dance."Research in African Literatures 39.4 (1999): 156-57. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 19 Oct. 2014.