Kinshasa, formerly Léopoldville, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest growing megacities.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa and formerly known as Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola and the South Atlantic Ocean.
Congolese music is one of the most influential music forms of the African continent. Since the 1930s, Congolese musicians have had a huge impact on the African musical scene and elsewhere. Many contemporary genres of music, such as Kenyan Benga and Colombian Champeta, have been heavily influenced by Congolese music. In 2021, Congolese rumba joined other living traditions such as Jamaican reggae music and Cuban rumba on UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list.
Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba, known professionally as Papa Wemba, was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of the most popular musicians of his time in Africa and played an important role in world music. He was also a fashion icon who popularized the Sape look and style through his musical group Viva la Musica, with whom he performed on stages throughout the world.
Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu, better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a leading African rumba singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the leader of Orchestre Afrisa International, as well as one of Africa's most influential vocalists and prolific songwriters. Along with guitarist Dr Nico Kasanda, Tabu Ley pioneered soukous and internationalised his music by fusing elements of Congolese folk music with Cuban, Caribbean and Latin American rumba. He has been described as "the Congolese personality who, along with Mobutu, marked Africa's 20th century history." He was dubbed "the African Elvis" by the Los Angeles Times. After the fall of the Mobutu regime, Tabu Ley also pursued a political career. His musical career ran parallel to the other great Congolese rhumba bandleader and rival Franco Luambo Makiadi who ran the band TPOK Jazz throughout the 1960s, 1970s and '80s.
Konono Nº1 is a musical group from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are known for their DIY aesthetic, combining electric likembé with vocals, dancers, and percussion instruments that are made out of items salvaged from a junkyard. The group's amplification equipment is equally rudimentary, including a microphone carved out of wood fitted with a magnet from an automobile alternator and a gigantic horn-shaped amplifier. The genre of the band's music has been characterized as difficult to classify; the group themselves have classified their music under the labels of "tradi-modern" and "Congotronics".
Lokua Kanza is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He is known for his soulful, folksy sound, which is atypical of the dancefloor friendly soukous music that is common in Democratic Republic of the Congo. His proficiency to blend different musical styles and cultural influences has made him a celebrated artist, admired for his distinctive and evocative musical creations. He sings in French, Swahili, Lingala, Portuguese, and English. He was a coach in The Voice Afrique Francophone in 2016 and 2017.
Antoine Wendo Kolosoy, known as Papa Wendo, was a Congolese musician. He is considered the "Father" of Congolese rumba, also known as soukous, a musical style blending son cubano, beguine, waltz, tango and cha-cha.
Staff Benda Bilili are a group of street musicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They used to live around the grounds of the zoo in the country's capital city, Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in soukous, with elements of old-school rhythm and blues and reggae. The core of the band consists of four senior singers/guitarists, who are paraplegic and move around in spectacularly customized tricycles. They are backed by a younger rhythm section consisting of abandoned street children who were taken under the protection of the older members of the band. The soloist is an 18-year-old boy (2009) who plays guitar-like solos on an electrified one-stringed lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. The group's name translates roughly from Lingala as "look beyond appearances".
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has an embassy in Moscow and an honorary consulate in Yekaterinburg. Russia has an embassy in Kinshasa. The relations between the two countries were established on July 7, 1960, and restored since November 30, 1967.
Noël Ngiama Makanda, known professionally as Werra son, is a Congolese singer, songwriter, and bandleader born December 25, 1965, in Moliambo, a small village in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), specifically in Kikwit, Kwilu Province. He is one of the founding members of musical band Wenge Musica, which was established in 1981 while he was still pursuing a degree in accountancy. Werrason, and his college friends Didier Masela, Aimé Buanga, Machiro Kifaya and others formed the band and were later joined by J.B Mpiana.
Malage de Lugendo, is a DR Congolese soukous recording artist, composer and vocalist. He was a member of François Luambo Makiadi's seminal band TPOK Jazz, and Tabu Ley Rochereau's band Afrisa International.
Mavatiku Michelino Visi, commonly known as Michelino, is a soukous recording artist, composer, guitarist and vocalist, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was a member of the Congolese band African Fiesta Nationale, which was later renamed Afrisa International, led by Congolese music superstar, Tabu Ley. Later, in the early 1970s, Michelino left Afrisa and joined TPOK Jazz, led by François Luambo Makiadi, which dominated the Congolese music scene from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Kinshasa One Two is an album recorded by Damon Albarn alongside ten producers of the newly established DRC Music group, to benefit Oxfam's work in Congo.
Fally Ipupa N'simba, better known mononymously by his stage name Fally Ipupa, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, philanthropist, guitarist, and producer. He is known for his melancholic soft tenor voice, emphatic and emotive dance moves, as well as his unique blend of contemporary and traditional Congolese music genres, including Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo.
La Vie est belle / Life is Rosy is a 1987 musical comedy directed by Mwezé Ngangura and Benoît Lamy. The film revolves around the vibrant music scene of Kinshasa and tells the rags-to-riches story of a poor rural musician played by legendary Congolese musician, Papa Wemba, the “King of Rumba Rock”, who seeks fame in the big city. The film was considered a major turning point in film production in the DRC with its more artistic approach. Unlike many African films of the time that concerned themselves with the effects of colonialism, La vie est belle celebrates Congolese culture, music and the lives of Kinshasans. The film score features Congolese music from artists Tshala Muana, Klody, and Zaiko Langa Langa, a Congolese soukous band co-founded by Papa Wemba.
Cinema of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) originated with educational and propaganda films during the colonial era of the Belgian Congo. Development of a local film industry after the Democratic Republic of the Congo became independent in 1960 was handicapped by constant civil war.
Innocent Didace Balume, known by his stage name Innoss'B, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, rapper, percussionist, dancer, and philanthropist from Goma, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His fusion of Soukous, Afrobeats, and Rumba genres into his music played a significant role in his meteoric rise to fame. His subsequent releases, such as "Ozo Beta Mabe," "Yo Pe," "Meme," "Archour," "Olandi," "Amina," and "Best," established him as one of the most notable young musicians from the DRC and Africa.
Ferré Gola, also Ferre Gola, whose full name is Hervé Gola Bataringe, is a musician, singer, and songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was a member of legendary Congolese bands, Wenge Musica, Wenge Musica Maison Mère and Quartier Latin International. With his exceptional vocal prowess, stage presence, and compelling compositions, he has solidified his position as one of the leading figures in the contemporary Congolese music industry.
