The golden age of Congolese music.
Africa is the cradle of humanity. And if we refer to Africa as the cradle of humanity, we can refer to the Congo as the cradle of African music.
Congo is full of many resources, but one of the greatest of them is undoubtedly its music.
Since its independence, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced a boom. We can associate this moment with the famous hymn of independence and rumba, Independence Cha Cha from Grand Kalle, and African Jazz.
From its rich culture, we have seen the emergence of Congolese rumba. This musical genre will extend from the kingdom of Kongo (composed of the two Congo's and Angola) to Cuba and will conquer the whole world.
“Po ya ko bongisa Congo avenir, ebongi tosala, ebongi tosala.”
Its roots and strong influence.
The name rumba takes its origin from the word "nkumba" in Kikongo, which means "navel." It was a navel dance performed in the kingdom of Kongo. But between the 13th and the 16th century, due to the thousands of Congolese who had been taken to Cuba during the slave trade, they will perpetuate the nkumba on this territory.
It is the mispronunciation of the word by the Spanish that will end up giving the word "rumba" or "cumbia". Moreover, they will add certain instruments and elaborate the structure of this genre. Then rumba came back to Congolese territory in the 1930s, which enabled them to characterize the genre and bring it to life as we know it. This explains the strong influence of Congolese and African sounds in Cuban rumba. It's a legacy from the slave trade.
But what makes this music so special is the authenticity and diversity in the association of rhythms, song, and dance.
These beautiful harmonies and sounds of percussion instruments adorned with guitar and bass played by Congolese musicians and orchestras were introduced by European musicians that were strongly inspired by jazz. All these assemblages will gradually evolve towards electrified instruments, in particular the famous bass. These are all characteristics that brought this unmatched style to life. A style that became very popular in the 1960s.
A legendary heritage.
We cannot talk about traditional rumba without naming the builders and legends of this music in this era. Since 1950 and way before, Paul Kamba, Franco Luambo (Le Grand Maître) & TP Ok Jazz, Joseph Kabasele (aka Grand Kalle) and African Jazz, Tabu Ley Rochereau, (in 1970 the first African singer to headline at L'Olympia in France) and many others.
The exchange of culture between Congolese music and Latin music is deeply felt, especially in the way of producing with the 78 rpm "GV" from the Cubans.
African Jazz, pioneers of Congolese rumba, who will make it recognized in Europe, will use Latin American rhythms in many of their recorded songs, as in the famous Independence Cha Cha.
A legendary heritage.
Also, the appearance of radios in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) allows the mass distribution of music thanks to speakers installed in the city. All these establishments helped the expansion of this music, which will cross borders and eras.
The traditional rumba will give birth to derivatives that will perpetuate this genre, such as the soukous and the ndombolo, and new structuring such as the seben (structure based on traditional rumba) representative of this evolution.
Here is modern rumba. Among them, we can count the big names that are Zaïko Langa Langa, Pepe Kalle, Papa Wemba, etc.
The soukous style will spread, particularly in Colombia. It has influenced what is called "champeta Africana," Afro-Colombian music that appeared in the 1970s.
Another aspect of this evolution, very different from crooners like Kékélé, is the important presence of "atalaku" (host). This touch of animation brings a touch of energy to the music. Also, we will see the emergence of the trend of "mabangas," which are dedications that run through a song. This trend is often made on the basis of remuneration. The famous Koffi Olomide is representative of this trend.
Women, as rare as they are, have also marked this great epic, among them Mbilia Bel, Tshala Muana, Mpongo Love.
All these concordances have given Congolese music the gold medal.
The sounds of Congolese rumba were honoured in 2021 by UNESCO and finally recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The application to include Congolese rumba in the list was submitted by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo.
Written by Leslie Ngia