Friday, May 18, 2018
MUSIC (Kenya): Rosa's InSide, feat Naiboi
InSide is a new club banger released in January 2018. It is a very "Nairobi" kind of song, but with a universal metropolitan beat. It is a "something new ...something borrowed" sort of moment. Rosa, the lead singer, is patently a new kid on the block -- I'd never seen or heard (of) her before this. She's so suddenly on the scene, and so fresh, she's literally improbable. But, out of the blue, here she is -- seamlessly layering her lyrical lines with phrases in English, Eastlands Swahili and Dholuo.
With a mellow voice, she sings like a reigning star, back from a sabbatical she's not been around enough to earn. But her talent reveals itself and puts all queries to rest. Her tone and comportment suggest that where ever she's been -- here and even there, in the diaspora of one kind or another -- have all been good for (and to) her. She's hit the Nairobi musical scene with a sophisticated bang. She has great looks too, let's not beat about the bush, and uses both voice and cultured body with restrained self-confidence -- and to great effect. We're all the richer.
Naiboi joins her in this funky and disarming song, and I'm guessing that it is she who approached him for the song -- he being the more intricately networked in these parts. Not a bad choice if you have tracked his artistic progression and steep learning curve in the last couple of years or so. The song's title is InSide, but he makes it sound like a broken insider -- inisaida, in fact. No, there's no subliminal messaging there that I can pin down -- just a verbal prank helped along by a difficult set of syllables.
Click here to watch the video clip
Thursday, May 17, 2018
MUSIC (LingalaPop): Fally Ipupa's epic Orgasy
Released in 2013, Fally Ipupa's Orgasy clip tells an intriguing visual and aural story with a line that's at once absorbing and inexplicably thin. It is 'absorbing' because its coherence is not immediately grasped and must, if possible, be patiently unravelled. It is 'inexplicably thin' because, to have meaning, stories such as this must have a certain density, proportionality and coherence of text, all of which it in fact lacks.
I say stories such as this because Orgassy is all wrapped up in a symphony of really, really heavenly and finely-weaved tapestry of sounds. It is, indeed, an epic of sounds suggestive of events unfolding on a grand scale, and with unexpected turns at 'every turn' along the way.
But, on the 'flip side', we find that the actual (that is, the visual) story-line which 'speaks' to our eyes does not live up to the expectations simultaneously engendered, in this world of music, by the more powerful audio narrative. Orgasy remains a great song, then, but is hampered in this clip by a visual story-line that's inexplicably flawed.
Click here to watch the Orgasy clip
I say stories such as this because Orgassy is all wrapped up in a symphony of really, really heavenly and finely-weaved tapestry of sounds. It is, indeed, an epic of sounds suggestive of events unfolding on a grand scale, and with unexpected turns at 'every turn' along the way.
But, on the 'flip side', we find that the actual (that is, the visual) story-line which 'speaks' to our eyes does not live up to the expectations simultaneously engendered, in this world of music, by the more powerful audio narrative. Orgasy remains a great song, then, but is hampered in this clip by a visual story-line that's inexplicably flawed.
Click here to watch the Orgasy clip
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
LingalaPop, Volume 8
This is Volume 8 of the Mauri Yambo Blog's series of #LingalaPop music. The point has been made in Volumes 1 and 2 that certain Congolese music productions have all the features -- and effects on audience (or fan) sensibilities -- which are typically found in pop music as broadly understood. The hashtag given above groups and highlights what I consider to be stand-out examples of that kind of music.
As previously indicated, Lingala is deliberately made a part of the hashtag in order to give due respect to that expansive lingua franca of the Greater Congo, which serves (in word and/or tone) as the base for the songs referenced here. Most of the songs under the hashtag are sung by Congolese nationals at home or in the diaspora -- but, interestingly, not all. In Volume 3, for example, two Kenyan Queens (Victoria Kimani and Akothee) featured in two separate songs in a full-throttle sort of way.
Nor is Lingala the language that Congolese artistes, or those that they sing with, exclusively use in the included songs. French is a common ingredient across many songs; and so is Swahili. Choices are made from song to song, but perhaps not randomly. In Tucheze, Ferre Gola sang a considerable chunk of the lyrics in 'heavy-accent' but recognizable Swahili, while Victoria Kimani sang her part almost entirely in English. But Lingala did join them at the hip in terms of both tone and the synchronized flow of body texts.
Nigerian artiste J. Martins appears with Ferre Gola in Ekelebe, in Volume 4, with enough gravitational force to influence the latter's celestial orbit. The same Ferre Gola, that is, who in that piece sings not, shall I say, in lyrical Lingala but -- in order to 'keep up' with J. Martins -- in bemusing English. Still, Lingala's tonal influence on both proceedings is not escaped, in whatever charming mix we may come upon the ingredients.
Volume 5, like the earlier four, showcases 10 video (or audio) clips steeped in #LingalaPop. Indeed, I think that the songs are among the leading ones. Here, too, not everything is pure Lingala. Barbara Kanam, for example, finely weaves her song, Reste, out of three language strands: French, Swahili and Lingala. She's as good in each just as she, herself, is. And Enemy Solo is sung in a 'volatile' mix of funky Lingala and lyrical 'pidgin' (that's English) by an irrepressible Awilo Longomba and super-charged P-Square! It is a match of equals.
In Volume 6, Linah (who is Tanzanian) and Christian Bella (Congolese) team up to deliver an exceptionally tuneful and colourful song: Hellow. Linah sings almost entirely in Swahili. The song as a whole is mostly in Swahili as well. However, Christian Bella renders his portion of the 'purely' Swahili lyrics with a decidedly Lingala accent. Arguably, this tilts the overall weight of the song's tonality toward Lingala, Christian Bella having already 'state captured' a significant portion of Lina's intonation in the first half of the song.
In Olla as well, Christian Bella sings in Swahili with the same Lingala-accentuated verve. One should expect the same result, but Khaligraph Jones, the Kenyan Rapper King, blends, and so tempers, all that with his signature "stream of Consciousness" rapping style. And yet the Lingala imprimatur doesn't lose enough force to disappear. This is a win-win, in the end. We can declare a similar result in Nagharamia (sung by Tanzania's Alikiba and Christian Bella). Alikiba succeeds in creating a context in which Swahili (infused in a subtle and measured fashion with Taarab 'elements') cedes as much ground as it gains from Christian Bella's Lingala.
The songs in Volume 7 are sung mostly in Lingala, though four have French (or partly French) titles, and two English. They are all sung by Congolese artistes. Six of the individuals or groups featured here are appearing for the very first time in the #LingalaPop series. They are mostly men.
Three women sing four of the ten songs offered, all in video form. We have seen Claudia Bakisa and Mpongo Love before, but not Yondo Sister. She, Yondo Sister, is, I find, the finest of the bunch of artistes, male or female, gathered in Volume 7. She is among the very top in all the other volumes that we've seen as well. She dances with no restraint at all, as if possessed by the very words she sings and the tunes her ears and lithe body attend to. She goes, in the end, totally wild. Congo wild. Great funk! If you haven't seen Yondo Sister, I dare say, you haven't seen anyone.
Among the male singers, Cedric Embangu -- the lead singer in Cherie Enlevee Djino Kezipama (Song Number 4) -- is the most impassioned interpreter of the mood and all else that his song packs. He's really, really "intoit" -- body and 'soul'! And so it goes. READ MORE.
But Sam Mangwana, with his fast-paced Fati Mata, makes an important point as well. It is that Rumba (Rhumba) has changed, and is no longer necessarily slow-motion music plus low-energy dance. He is not alone in this view, as artistes like Ferre Gola, Claudia Bakisa, Cedric Embangu, Fally Ipupa, Heritier Watanabe, Fabregas Le Metis and Didier Milla, among others, amply demonstrate.
Five singers in total appear in Volume 8, as individuals or as artistic pairs, whom we have not seen in earlier volumes. These are: Didier Milla, Papa Wemba and Nathalie Makoma, and Madilu System and Nyboma. Papa Wemba and Nathalie Makoma (You shall place her by her 'family' name!) sing an attention-grabbing song, emphasizing their sense of freedom to break with 'set pieces' in order to catch, as catch can, nouveau sounds and styles. Didier Milla's team, likewise, delivers superbly innovative Rumba sounds and unfettered, stylized dance moves. Madilu System and Nyboma serve us a more 'mainstream' fare, but the dancing girls garnish it. They garnish it, with no apologies, with a "spirit of the dance" that's something of a bridge between Old R(h)umba and an Ascendant Soukous.
Sure-footed Yondo Sister appears here, too, with two songs and sets of dancing shoes. And that silky voice. It's not a cameo appearance by any means. And all's well with Perdue de Vue. All's even better with Maweke's surround magic.
This growing selection of #LingalaPop titles includes a number about which I have made 'substantive' comments already or, alternatively, ranked in #TheYamboSelection series -- over the stretch of a few years. And I have restricted my commentary essentially to songs that have "reached my ears" in one way or another -- or, let's say it, via smart algorithms. It has not been a total scouring of the Great Lakes and Rivers (etc) universe -- which would have been an exercise in futility for one man.
The urge to share exemplary or exciting 'finds' on a particular list (scheduled or not) may prompt -- indeed already has (in #TheYamboSelection series), and in some instances perhaps should -- the publication of the list before the narratives related to particular titles are ready for release, or even 'fully' drafted. The fact is that there's just so much Lingala music from the past, leave alone the numbers being produced these days -- and increasingly "all over". The urge to share must keep reasonable pace with the volume and accelerating velocity of creative productions.
The lister's and commentator's work is never done, experience teaches! Such comments as I have already made are available on this blog, but the links I give below take you only to the clips associated with the songs listed in Volume 8. Links to any comments that I will make in the days ahead about particular titles on the list below will be added to an updated version of this post as soon as those comments are ready to share.
The songs appearing below are not arranged in any particular order of rank. I really love all of them, and think you will do so too. Let me also add that the 'burst' of incoming evidence that I have encountered as I have continued with my (re)search on songs that deserve inclusion means that we are now inexorably headed toward Volume 10. Soon enough, but no one really knows when.
Here below are the video/audio clips that make up Volume 8:
Click (you may have to Right Click) the song of your choice on the list below, and then (if you have Right Clicked) choose the "Open link in new tab" option in order to watch or listen to the clip.
1. Sosola by Makoma (2012)
2. Jalousie by Madilu System feat. Nyboma (2013)
3. Cadence Mudanda by Mbilia Bel (2017)
4. Vie a Zero by Didier Milla (2009)
5. Perdue de Vue by Yondo Sister (2013)
6. "6 Millions ya ba Soucis" by Papa Wemba ft. Nathalie Makoma (2010)
7. Coupe Bibamba by Awilo Longomba (2008)
8. Sans Trace by Claudia Bakisa (2013)
9. Maweke by Yondo Sister (2013)
10. Mwinda by Makoma (2012)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7:
1. LingalaPop, Volume 1
2. LingalaPop, Volume 2
3. LingalaPop, Volume 3
4. LingalaPop, Volume 4
5. LingalaPop, Volume 5
6. LingalaPop, Volume 6
7. LingalaPop, Volume 7
As previously indicated, Lingala is deliberately made a part of the hashtag in order to give due respect to that expansive lingua franca of the Greater Congo, which serves (in word and/or tone) as the base for the songs referenced here. Most of the songs under the hashtag are sung by Congolese nationals at home or in the diaspora -- but, interestingly, not all. In Volume 3, for example, two Kenyan Queens (Victoria Kimani and Akothee) featured in two separate songs in a full-throttle sort of way.
Nor is Lingala the language that Congolese artistes, or those that they sing with, exclusively use in the included songs. French is a common ingredient across many songs; and so is Swahili. Choices are made from song to song, but perhaps not randomly. In Tucheze, Ferre Gola sang a considerable chunk of the lyrics in 'heavy-accent' but recognizable Swahili, while Victoria Kimani sang her part almost entirely in English. But Lingala did join them at the hip in terms of both tone and the synchronized flow of body texts.
Nigerian artiste J. Martins appears with Ferre Gola in Ekelebe, in Volume 4, with enough gravitational force to influence the latter's celestial orbit. The same Ferre Gola, that is, who in that piece sings not, shall I say, in lyrical Lingala but -- in order to 'keep up' with J. Martins -- in bemusing English. Still, Lingala's tonal influence on both proceedings is not escaped, in whatever charming mix we may come upon the ingredients.
Volume 5, like the earlier four, showcases 10 video (or audio) clips steeped in #LingalaPop. Indeed, I think that the songs are among the leading ones. Here, too, not everything is pure Lingala. Barbara Kanam, for example, finely weaves her song, Reste, out of three language strands: French, Swahili and Lingala. She's as good in each just as she, herself, is. And Enemy Solo is sung in a 'volatile' mix of funky Lingala and lyrical 'pidgin' (that's English) by an irrepressible Awilo Longomba and super-charged P-Square! It is a match of equals.
In Volume 6, Linah (who is Tanzanian) and Christian Bella (Congolese) team up to deliver an exceptionally tuneful and colourful song: Hellow. Linah sings almost entirely in Swahili. The song as a whole is mostly in Swahili as well. However, Christian Bella renders his portion of the 'purely' Swahili lyrics with a decidedly Lingala accent. Arguably, this tilts the overall weight of the song's tonality toward Lingala, Christian Bella having already 'state captured' a significant portion of Lina's intonation in the first half of the song.
In Olla as well, Christian Bella sings in Swahili with the same Lingala-accentuated verve. One should expect the same result, but Khaligraph Jones, the Kenyan Rapper King, blends, and so tempers, all that with his signature "stream of Consciousness" rapping style. And yet the Lingala imprimatur doesn't lose enough force to disappear. This is a win-win, in the end. We can declare a similar result in Nagharamia (sung by Tanzania's Alikiba and Christian Bella). Alikiba succeeds in creating a context in which Swahili (infused in a subtle and measured fashion with Taarab 'elements') cedes as much ground as it gains from Christian Bella's Lingala.
The songs in Volume 7 are sung mostly in Lingala, though four have French (or partly French) titles, and two English. They are all sung by Congolese artistes. Six of the individuals or groups featured here are appearing for the very first time in the #LingalaPop series. They are mostly men.
Three women sing four of the ten songs offered, all in video form. We have seen Claudia Bakisa and Mpongo Love before, but not Yondo Sister. She, Yondo Sister, is, I find, the finest of the bunch of artistes, male or female, gathered in Volume 7. She is among the very top in all the other volumes that we've seen as well. She dances with no restraint at all, as if possessed by the very words she sings and the tunes her ears and lithe body attend to. She goes, in the end, totally wild. Congo wild. Great funk! If you haven't seen Yondo Sister, I dare say, you haven't seen anyone.
Among the male singers, Cedric Embangu -- the lead singer in Cherie Enlevee Djino Kezipama (Song Number 4) -- is the most impassioned interpreter of the mood and all else that his song packs. He's really, really "intoit" -- body and 'soul'! And so it goes. READ MORE.
But Sam Mangwana, with his fast-paced Fati Mata, makes an important point as well. It is that Rumba (Rhumba) has changed, and is no longer necessarily slow-motion music plus low-energy dance. He is not alone in this view, as artistes like Ferre Gola, Claudia Bakisa, Cedric Embangu, Fally Ipupa, Heritier Watanabe, Fabregas Le Metis and Didier Milla, among others, amply demonstrate.
Five singers in total appear in Volume 8, as individuals or as artistic pairs, whom we have not seen in earlier volumes. These are: Didier Milla, Papa Wemba and Nathalie Makoma, and Madilu System and Nyboma. Papa Wemba and Nathalie Makoma (You shall place her by her 'family' name!) sing an attention-grabbing song, emphasizing their sense of freedom to break with 'set pieces' in order to catch, as catch can, nouveau sounds and styles. Didier Milla's team, likewise, delivers superbly innovative Rumba sounds and unfettered, stylized dance moves. Madilu System and Nyboma serve us a more 'mainstream' fare, but the dancing girls garnish it. They garnish it, with no apologies, with a "spirit of the dance" that's something of a bridge between Old R(h)umba and an Ascendant Soukous.
Sure-footed Yondo Sister appears here, too, with two songs and sets of dancing shoes. And that silky voice. It's not a cameo appearance by any means. And all's well with Perdue de Vue. All's even better with Maweke's surround magic.
This growing selection of #LingalaPop titles includes a number about which I have made 'substantive' comments already or, alternatively, ranked in #TheYamboSelection series -- over the stretch of a few years. And I have restricted my commentary essentially to songs that have "reached my ears" in one way or another -- or, let's say it, via smart algorithms. It has not been a total scouring of the Great Lakes and Rivers (etc) universe -- which would have been an exercise in futility for one man.
The urge to share exemplary or exciting 'finds' on a particular list (scheduled or not) may prompt -- indeed already has (in #TheYamboSelection series), and in some instances perhaps should -- the publication of the list before the narratives related to particular titles are ready for release, or even 'fully' drafted. The fact is that there's just so much Lingala music from the past, leave alone the numbers being produced these days -- and increasingly "all over". The urge to share must keep reasonable pace with the volume and accelerating velocity of creative productions.
The lister's and commentator's work is never done, experience teaches! Such comments as I have already made are available on this blog, but the links I give below take you only to the clips associated with the songs listed in Volume 8. Links to any comments that I will make in the days ahead about particular titles on the list below will be added to an updated version of this post as soon as those comments are ready to share.
The songs appearing below are not arranged in any particular order of rank. I really love all of them, and think you will do so too. Let me also add that the 'burst' of incoming evidence that I have encountered as I have continued with my (re)search on songs that deserve inclusion means that we are now inexorably headed toward Volume 10. Soon enough, but no one really knows when.
Here below are the video/audio clips that make up Volume 8:
Click (you may have to Right Click) the song of your choice on the list below, and then (if you have Right Clicked) choose the "Open link in new tab" option in order to watch or listen to the clip.
1. Sosola by Makoma (2012)
2. Jalousie by Madilu System feat. Nyboma (2013)
3. Cadence Mudanda by Mbilia Bel (2017)
4. Vie a Zero by Didier Milla (2009)
5. Perdue de Vue by Yondo Sister (2013)
6. "6 Millions ya ba Soucis" by Papa Wemba ft. Nathalie Makoma (2010)
7. Coupe Bibamba by Awilo Longomba (2008)
8. Sans Trace by Claudia Bakisa (2013)
9. Maweke by Yondo Sister (2013)
10. Mwinda by Makoma (2012)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7:
1. LingalaPop, Volume 1
2. LingalaPop, Volume 2
3. LingalaPop, Volume 3
4. LingalaPop, Volume 4
5. LingalaPop, Volume 5
6. LingalaPop, Volume 6
7. LingalaPop, Volume 7
Monday, May 14, 2018
MUSIC (LingalaPop): Cherie Enlevee Djino Kezipama by Cedric Embangu feat JB Mpiana
First appearances can be deceptive and wildly misleading. Cherie Enlevee Djino Kezipama (released in 2011) is a very charming song -- it turns out. But that's not how it looks at the beginning. Lead singer Cedric Embangu -- this unassuming singer with a high-pitched voice and at first sight an under-achiever -- only 'gradually' reveals himself, via his bundle of body texts, as a savvy interpreter of the mood and 'tones' that this 8:31-minute song packs. It is he, the alchemist, who must transform sound (any sound) into great sound, and thus give assurance of a great dance. As fine as they may be, the designated dancers depend on his delivery.
He doesn't disappoint, even with a voice that's only a few notches louder than a typical one-on-one conversation requires. This is, of course, mitigated by its cultivated range, and even more by the more outwardly robust input from a supporting cast of singers. What's more, his voice grows on the listener's ear.
The finest aspect of this clip is certainly the dancing, a fact already implied above. We see this clearly from 2:45 minutes onward, but the transition already started at 2:39 minutes. Cedric Embangu is really, really "intoit" all the way -- body and 'soul'! If he can win with his singing, he conquers with his effortless dancing.
What we have before us in this clip is truly stylized and synchronized rumba, and he leads the pack. Cool swag gives way to cool swaying, and swaying back to swagging. Paired dancing melts into group-flight (of fancy), and then back to the pairing -- and then back, again and again; all under the watchful eye of the out-of-sight video director.
One scene gives way to another as well, and another to one -- all in the spirit of a unified whole. And yet the connecting thread remains the simultaneity and harmony of singing and instrument play. The ensuing rhythm is all-absorbing to the attentive ear, and masters the increasingly passionate dancing. The spirit of the whole thing is, in the end, the dancing.
Click here to watch the Cherie Enlevee Djino Kezipama clip
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