Orchestra Makassy were an East African soukous band of the late 1970s and early 1980s, consisting of musicians from Uganda and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). [1]
In 1975, under the leadership of their principal vocalist Kitenzogu "Mzee" Makassy, the group moved from Kampala, Uganda to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, taking up residence at the New Africa Hotel where they were joined by guitarists and singers such as Mose Se Sengo ('Fan Fan') and Remmy Ongala. [1] One of the band's first recordings was the song "Chama Cha Mapinduzi" praising the Tanzanian independence party, with lyrics based on the words of the country's first president, Julius Nyerere. In 1982, the band moved to Nairobi, Kenya, to record The Nairobi AGWAYA Sessions at the CBS Nairobi studio. Remmy Ongala left the band and stayed in Tanzania where he went on to join Orchestra Super Matimila. Mose Se Sengo left the band in Kenya to start his own band Somo Somo. The Nairobi Agwaya Sessions, produced by London-based Australian engineer, Norman Mighell, has been described as "one of the finest moments of East African rumba". The band broke up in 1984. [2] [3]
Simba Wanyika was a Kenyan-based band created in 1971 by Tanzanian brothers Wilson Kinyonga and George Kinyonga, and disbanded in 1994. Simba Wanyika and its two offshoots, Les Wanyika and Super Wanyika Stars, became some of the most popular bands in Kenya. Their guitar-driven sound, inspired by the Soukous guitarist Dr. Nico, combined highly melodic rumba with lyrics sung in Swahili. Simba wa nyika means "Lions of the Savannah" in Swahili.
As it is in other countries, the music in Tanzania is constantly undergoing changes, and varies by location, people, settings and occasion. The five music genres in Tanzania, as defined by BASATA are, ngoma, dansi, kwaya, and taarab, with bongo flava being added in 2001. Singeli has since the mid-2000s been an unofficial music of uswahilini, unplanned communities in Dar es Salaam, and is the newest mainstream genre since 2020.
The music of Kenya is very diverse, with multiple types of folk music based on the variety over 50 regional languages.
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.
Soukous is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, with faster dance rhythms and bright, intricate guitar improvisation, and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, song structures and longer dance sequences.
Bongo Flava is a nickname for Tanzanian music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi. Lyrics are usually in Swahili or English.
Benga is a genre of Kenyan popular music. It evolved between the late 1940s and late 1960s, in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi. In the 1940s, the African Broadcasting Service in Nairobi aired a steady stream of soukous, South African kwela, Congolese finger-style guitar and various kinds of Cuban dance music that heavily influenced emergence of benga. There were also popular folk songs of Tanzania and Kenya's Luo peoples that formed the base on benga creation.
Les Quatre Etoiles was a Congolese musical group active from 1982 to 1996. They played the Soukous style of dance music, which gained widespread popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.
East African Breweries Limited, commonly referred to as EABL, is a Kenyan-based holding company that manufactures branded beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Samba Mapangala is a Congolese singer and bandleader who has been based in Kenya for most of his five-decade musical career, most notably there creating and leading Virunga, which has been one of the most popular bands in East Africa for more than 35 years.
Muziki wa dansi, or simply dansi, is a Tanzanian music genre, derivative of Congolese soukous and Congolese rumba. It is sometimes called Swahili jazz because most dansi lyrics are in Swahili, and "jazz" is an umbrella term used in Central and Eastern Africa to refer to soukous, highlife, and other dance music and big band genres. Muziki wa dansi can also be referred to as Tanzanian rumba, as "african rumba" is another name for soukous.
Ramazani "Remmy" Mtoro Ongala was a Tanzanian guitarist and singer. Ongala was born in Kindu, in what was the Belgian Congo at the time, and now is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Bamburi Super Series was an East African Rugby union competition with eight teams in total, five teams from Kenya two from Uganda and one from Tanzania (Twigas) that is currently defunct. It is closely based on the Super Rugby competition in the southern hemisphere. Games take place at the RFUEA Ground in Nairobi (Kenya), Friedkin Recreation Centre in Arusha (Tanzania) and the Kyadondo Grounds, Kampala (Uganda). Rhinos have won the most titles with four wins, and are the only team to have defended a title when they beat the Cheetahs 25–5 in the 2010 final.
Mose Se Sengo was a guitarist, composer and band-leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was one of the pioneers of Congolese Soukous.
Papa Noel Nedule is a soukous recording artist and guitarist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Rondot Kassongo, is a soukous recording artist and saxophonist, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was once a member of the soukous band TPOK Jazz, led by François Luambo Makiadi, which dominated the Congolese music scene from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Songs for the Poor Man is the first studio album and second album overall by Tanzanian soukous musician Remmy Ongala and his band Orchestre Super Matimila, released in 1989 on Real World Records. The album follows Ongala's acclaimed appearances at the WOMAD Tour and WOMAD'S release of Naillia Mwana, a compilation of early music by Ongala, two events which gave Ongala international recognition. Songs for the Poor Man was recorded at the WOMAD-affiliated Real World Studios in Wiltshire over three days in May 1989 with production, engineering and mixing help from David Bottrill.
Syran Mbenza is a guitarist, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has lived in Paris since about 1981. He has recorded and performed prolifically over five decades, including as a solo artist; as one of the four members of the popular soukous "supergroup" Les Quatre Étoiles; as a founding member of the acoustic, Congolese rumba revival band Kékélé; in other bands; and in support of numerous artists. He has been described as one of the greatest guitar players of Africa.