Pamelo Mounk'a

Last updated
Pamelo Mounk'a
Pamelo Mounk'a - Foire de Brazzaville (1973).jpg
Pamelo Mounk'a singing at Foire de Brazzaville in 1973
Background information
Also known asPablito, Pamelo M'Bemba
Born
Yves Andre M'Bemba

(1945-05-10)May 10, 1945
Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
DiedJanuary 14, 1996(1996-01-14) (aged 50)
Genres
OccupationsSinger, songwriter
Labels
Formerly of

Pamelo Mounk'a (May 10, 1945-January 14, 1996) [1] [2] [3] was a Congolese singer and songwriter. Born Yves Andre M'Bemba, he was also known as Pablito and Pamelo M'Bemba [4] .

Contents

Career

Mounk'a (then calling himself Pablito) got his start when he was hired by Jean Serge Essous as a singer in 1963 for Essous' band Les Bantous de la Capitale(fr). [5] He briefly crossed over the river in 1964 to play with Tabu Ley Rochereau's band African Fiesta, before returning to Brazzaville and the Bantous. [3]

In 1972 Orchestre Bantou broke up, with Mounk'a and two other singers forming the group Trio CEPAKOS. [4] [3] In 1978 he rejoined Orchestre Bantou to perform at the 11th World Festival of Youth and Students, which he claims he did at the urging of then-president Joachim Yhombi-Opango. [6] [3]

After leaving Orchestre Bantou once more, Mounk'a travelled to Paris in 1981. There, he signed on with Eddy'Son records and recorded L'Argent Appelle L'Argent and Samantha, which were hits. [7] According to Graeme Ewens of the Guardian, the former sold over 400,000 copies across Africa. [3] At this point he began going by the name Mounk'a, which according to him is a Teke name meaning glory. [8]

In 1986 he agreed to return to Orchestre Bantou a third time, now as the conductor, [9] though in a few years he had to leave the role due to health issues. [10]

He died in 1996 of diabetes. [11]

Legacy

The Congolese Ministry of Culture erected a bust honoring Mounk'a, among others, in Brazzaville. [12] Members of the band Extra Musica have cited Mounk'a as an influence. [13] [14]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Souvenir : Pamelo Mounka vingt ans déjà. | adiac-congo.com : toute l'actualité du Bassin du Congo". www.adiac-congo.com. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
  2. ↑ Jacques, SIKA Jean (2016-01-16). "Pamelo Mounk'a, 20 ans déjà !". Les Echos du Congo Brazzaville (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ewens, Graeme (21 March 1996). "Pamelo Mounk'a: Sweet voice of the Congo". The Guardian . p. 10. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 Stewart 2000, p. 186.
  5. ↑ Stewart 2000, p. 104.
  6. ↑ Stewart 2000, p. 237.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Graham, Ronnie (1988). Stern's guide to contemporary African music. African music. London: Zwan. pp. 202–203. ISBN   978-1-85305-000-8.
  8. ↑ Stewart 2000, pp. 258–259.
  9. ↑ Stewart 2000, p. 352.
  10. ↑ Stewart 2000, p. 377.
  11. ↑ Stewart 2000, p. 381.
  12. ↑ Jacques, SIKA Jean. "Brazzaville : Une allée des bustes et des talents pour rendre hommage aux personnalités congolaises et africaines qui ont marqué l'histoire". lesechos-congobrazza.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2025-02-14. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
  13. ↑ "Roga-Roga : « La musique congolaise stagne à cause des divisions »". Pan African Music (in French). 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  14. ↑ "Doudou Copa de Mi Amor, gardien de la rumba congolaise | adiac-congo.com : toute l'actualité du Bassin du Congo". www.adiac-congo.com. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  15. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The encyclopedia of popular music. Vol. 6 (4th ed.). New York: MUZE : Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  16. 1 2 3 "RUMBA CONGOLAISE". Syllart (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-28.
  17. ↑ "Releases – Sonodisc". www.karakosproductions.com. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.