You may think you don’t know anything about Congolese music. But if you’ve ever tapped your foot to the irresistible beat of the rumba, you’ve experienced a national tradition. Rumba originated in ...

Congolese Rumba is the glorious musical hybrid of Cuban music fused with African DNA. It started back in the 1950s with a boatload of 78 rpm Cuban records featuring Arsenio Rodriguez, Orquesta Aragón, ...

Nairobi — Mention of the word Congo immediately evokes two contrasting emotions - war and revelry. For Congo, the name shared by two neighbouring countries, is synonymous with music, especially the ...

Prologue: a mighty sound: Mobutu and the musicians, 1997 -- Difficult delivery: Bowane, Leopold II, Stanley, Brazza, Kamba, Feruzi, and Wendo, 1946 and before -- Why don't you make a record? Olympia, ...

When you look at Congolese music the question that comes into mind is whether it ever reached its full potential and whether it is a reflection of what Congo as a country has become. For a country ...

World music star Papa Wendo, often hailed as the "father" of Congolese rumba music, has died at the age of 82. The musician was admitted to a clinic in Kinshasa in DR Congo on Monday and died after a ...

Tabu Ley, one of the stars of 'Congo Funk!', and his band African Fiesta National in 1970 From the south bank’s perspective, the two-way musical trade between each country was complicated in 1971 when ...