Music (AfroPop): Rosalina Remix by BM and Awilo Longomba

Awilo Longomba may not be, any longer, the firebrand of song (and dance) that he once was. But see what he and BM and their troupe have just gone and done to claim position 2 in #AfroPop 2018! 

Time has slowed him some, but Rosalina Remix is a summation of, a fitting tribute to, all that he represents -- the half-remembered dance moves, the (now more carefully controlled) crowing, the refined turns-upon-a-pinpoint. The sunny, sunny and electrifying mien! Remember Karolina? Remember Coupe Bibamba? Remember Cache Cache? Remember them all -- and the other hits?


Click here to watch the Rosalina Remix clip


The suave and super-coordinated dance-steps that we see and savor here evoke fond memories, for sure -- and remind us of 'nearly-forgot' excitements and things. And even an excitement of things -- and moments.

Regard the oh so colourful and mandatory dress-code! True summer fare, as only the tropics can give anchor to -- in a rapidly changing and increasingly wide-eyed world.  The dancing bodies fill the small screen with verve and restrained cheer -- ebbing and flowing into and out of sight. And promising a return at once rhythmic and throbbing and seductive. 








#TheYamboSelection

MUSIC (LingalaPop): Kin Fever by Anita Mwarabu feat Oliverman

DR Congo's Anita Mwarabu (literally Anita "The Arab", in Swahili) is a delight to watch as the lead singer in this 2016 clip titled Kin Fever. We have already encountered her, on this blog,  in Bolingo Mabe (which she sings with such refinement with Innoss'B) and To Dondwa (with, among others, Fally Ipupa). Kin Fever is a worthy addition to her musical repertoire.

Though clearly a Lingala artiste, she offers us here a song with an English title -- and a distinctive samba/denge/kokoro tune. She is, in fact and in this production, multilingual and multicultural. Her last name suggests an upbringing in eastern DRC (relatively closer to the border with Tanzania, that epicentre of Swahili, than DRC's capital city of Kinshasa, which is to the really far west of that large country, on the Atlantic coast). 

Click here to watch the Kin Fever clip

Anita does not veer in Kin Fever, or anywhere else we have seen or heard her, toward any sort of avant garde frame of mind. This is quite unlike Yondo Sister, her compatriot and precursor, who dwells there(in). She just does what she's got to do, it seems, in the moment -- from song to song. She's proving that she is multi-talented, for sure, but is yet to affirm a distinct persona for her artistic calling. 

This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, since movie stars are not hampered by such. Many/most remain stars even though they play very different roles in their cinematic careers. What matters there is the quality of their performance from one movie to another. And yet we know that a good number of really outstanding stars are very particular about the roles that they agree to play, and that their fans have come to expect. The choice is as much the artiste's as it is the star's, and it is for the rest of us to judge.

Unlike Mbilia Bel -- who has always been "current" and flowing without sideshows with the LingalaPop flow of 'the day' -- Anita Mwarabu is unmistakably 'modern', in a different kind of way, in Kin Fever, and thoroughly 'hip'. She's trendy and 'in the groove' here, and doesn't flinch. She's the epitome of the global "now". Just look at the body texts that populate the Kin Fever clip! 

And yet this is not typical Anita Mwarabu -- certainly not yet. She'll have to do more stuff like this for the divergent personae to stick, in a collective way, in her fans' minds. One doesn't know if she really wants to, or if this is a passing phase. We'll wait to see. But her performance in Kin Fever is good, regardless -- very good.

LingalaPop, Volume 9

This is Volume 9 of the Mauri Yambo Blog's series of #LingalaPop music. The point was 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 highlights and groups 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.

In this Volume 9 we have four singers we haven't encountered in previous volumes. These are, first and second, the late superstar Madilu System (aka Jean de Dieu Makiese, aka Jean Bialu Madilu) and Wuta Mayi. The two sing and share deserved accolades in a funky -- and 'just too tuneful' and truly dance-worthy -- piece titled L'heure c'est L'heure. 

Third, Alain Kounkou, who gives us as fine and thoroughly modern interpretation of Soukous as any in R.A.S Riens A Signaler. Fourth, Kidum, who pairs with lovable Alicios in Pete, in a touching tribute to love and the optimism and trust that it invariably engenders and rides on.

Eight of the titles in Volume 9 were sung and published after 2010; that is, in this second decade of the 21st century. But these cannot include L'heure c'est..., since Madilu System (born in 1950) died too soon, at 57, in 2007. We have already touched on two of the eight above; that is, R.A.S.... and Pete. The other six are: C'est Facile, Logik, Kin Fever, Jeudi Soir, Mwana Kento and Nashindwa.  

Let's touch only briefly on two of the remaining six for now; namely, Logik and Nashindwa. Sung in English, Lingala and French in different measures, Logik is, in tone and dance moves, a genre as far from Rumba as can be. It's a musical cocktail in a distinctly millennial style. That's to say, it has a beat, and dance memes, that place it at the very eye-of-the-storm that's today's youth-driven and increasingly borderless pop. But for the lyrics, and the people who play assigned roles in the clip, Logik might as well be a production out of New York City; or a major European city, for that matter -- which it most probably is in a literal sense. And yet Innoss'B's talent isn't getting as much attention in the social media as it truly deserves.

Christian Bella (Master of Melody), is a Congolese who has lived in Tanzania since 2006. He sings Nashindwa (= I'm beat) entirely in Swahili. But the lyrical tone is distinctly Lingala. So is the song's pervasive beat. The dancing that we see in the clip is a cross between Rumba and Soukous -- and consequently projects a slower version of Soukous. He may choose to live outside DR Congo, but Lingala isn't parting company with his musical muse.

Let's turn now to high-strung Yondo Sister, who sings both C'est Facile and Mwana Kento. The sounds in C'est Facile, we find, are pure melody, and are well interpreted by Yondo Sister's dancing belles. The mood that all the 'artwork' spreads is cabaret-like and all-alluring. And, out of the blue, the clip 'installs' a mellow ambience superbly tailored for a cocktail, or dinner, get-together of cool-society types -- products of multiple cultures and (ad)ventures. The inspired piano accompaniment just lets everything soar, and affirms -- affirms everything one would want affirmed. 

Mwana Kento is another thing altogether -- a moving and lyrical cultural statement. As an aural-ocular offering, it is an inspired and deeply touching, and perhaps 'possessed', feline-fed interpretation of the African spirit, which touches all things that there are to touch. The mood is deeply rooted in all that has (ever) happened in this big, big, big portion of Mother Earth -- and so, so deeply African. She, Yondo Sister, is the sole soul-sorceress here, at this moment in our time; an agile purveyor of our deep culture -- in its aural and all its danced dimensions. She's a true personification of it all.

The other female singer on the above list of six is Anita Mwarabu (in Swahili, it is tempting to translate this to Anita "The Arab"), already encountered in Bolingo Mabe (which she sings with such refinement with Innoss'B) and To Dondwa (with, among others, Fally Ipupa). Here, as already indicated, she sings a song with an English title, Kin Fever. She does not veer in any way here, or anywhere else we have seen her, toward any sort of avant garde frame of mind, contrary to what we will presently say of Yondo Sister. She just does what she's got to do, it seem, in the moment -- from song to song. 

She's proving that she is multi-talented, for sure, but is yet to affirm a distinct persona for her artistic calling. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, since movie stars are not hampered by such. Many/most remain stars even though they play very different roles in their cinematic careers. What matters there is the quality of their performance from one movie to another. And yet we know that a good number of really outstanding stars are very particular about the roles that they agree to play, and that their fans have come to expect. The choice is as much the artiste's as it is the star's, and it is for the rest of us to judge.

Unlike Mbilia Bel -- who's always been "current" and flowing without sideshows with the LingalaPop flow of 'the day' -- Anita Mwarabu is unmistakably 'modern' in a different kind of way in Kin Fever, and thoroughly 'hip'. She's trendy and 'in the groove' here, and doesn't flinch. She's the epitome of the global "now". Just look at the body texts that populate the clip! And yet this is not typical Anita Mwarabu -- certainly not yet. She'll have to do more stuff like this for the divergent personae to stick, in a collective way, in her fans' minds. One doesn't know if she really wants to, or if this is a passing phase. We'll wait to see. But her performance in Kin Fever is good, regardless -- very good.

In general, it can be said that among the girls (and even among the men), Yondo Sister chose the avant garde path very early in her career, when the environment in which she grew up musically demanded only that one stayed "current" -- and flowed with 'it'. One detects great rebelliousness in her in this respect. The rebellion long ago became the habit that informs our reading of her art, and her approach to broader life. All of us who  savor her music and her characteristic counter-intuitive acts -- in sum, her magic -- we're all the richer for it. So ends my comments on the songs in Volume 9.

This growing selection of #LingalaPop titles, now in the ninth volume, 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, as mentioned in earlier volumes, 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 9. Links to any comments that I will make in the days and months 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. 

As has been the practice in earlier volumes, 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 even closer to Volume 10 than imagined just three or so volumes back.

Here below are the video/audio clips that make up Volume 9:
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. L'heure c'est L'heure by Madilu System ft. Wuta Mayi (2017?)
2. C'est Facile by Yondo Sister (2012)
3. Logik by Innoss'B (2017)
4. R.A.S. Rien A Signaler by Alain KounKou (2012)
5. Kin Fever by Anita Mwarabu ft. Oliverman (2016)
6. Jeudi Soir by Fally Ipupa (2017)
7. Mwana Kento by Yondo Sister (2013, Here's the 2008 ver.)
8. Zazou by Ferre Gola (2009)
9. Nashindwa by Christian Bella (2015) 
10. Pete by Alicios ft. Kidum (2016)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1 to 8:
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

8. LingalaPop, Volume 8

MUSIC (LingalaPop): Innoss'B's Logik

Logic is a very pleasant and radiant video clip. One suspects that those who didn't yet know Innoss'B will be quite surprised by his Logik. Sung in English, Lingala and French in different measures, the song is, in tone and dance moves, a genre as far from Rumba as can be. It's a musical cocktail in a distinctly millennial style. That's to say, it has a beat, and dance memes, that place it at the very eye-of-the-storm that's today's youth-driven and borderless pop. 

But for the lyrics, and the people who play assigned roles in the clip, Logik might as well be a production out of New York City; or a major European city, for that matter -- which it probably is in a literal sense. And yet Innoss'B's talent isn't getting as much attention in the social media as it deserves. That should change.

Click here to watch the video clip

MUSIC (LingalaPop): Ingratitude by Madilu System

Facebook just reminded me that this is the comment I made exactly six years ago (on May 26th 2012) about Madilu System's Ingratitude clip:

Part of the evolving genre of "Congolese Music"; a genre which we of my generation grew up on in Nairobi's Eastlands ( as did our peers elsewhere in Kenya and East Africa generally) -- years ago now (as Time flies)

I shared it right there. I thought I should share it here, too, and not add a word more.

Click here to watch the Ingratitude clip

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

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

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

MUSIC (LingalaPop): Incredible Yondo Sister's Mbuta Mutu

Incredible Yondo Sister is not so well known now outside the two Congos, as she once was. And even within them, her magnetic presence and appeal seem to have waned in recent years. Despite all that, she remains one of the very finest Congolese (nay, African) artistes, male or female, of any generation -- past and present. You just have to watch one of her video clips to know. 

Among her best are Perdue de Vue, Madi, Maweke, Mwana Kenta, Wapi Yo, and Mbuta Mutu. But you must also see her inspired avant-garde piece titled Duniya, which she sings in Swahili. It is the second song (which runs from 6:10 to 11:14 minutes) in the 8-piece retrospective published in 1992, a link to which I provide at the bottom of this page.

I choose to comment briefly here on only one of the above-mentioned songs: Mbuta Mutu (2015 version). The clip is, for me, a superb example of Yondo Sister's daring and absolutely absorbing artistry. In it, she dances with no restraint at all, as if possessed by the very words she sings and the very tunes her ears and lithe body attend to. She goes, in the end, totally wild here. Congo wild. She, the Great Rainforest Queen, rules a 'wilderness' world of funky sight and sound! If you haven't seen Yondo Sister, I dare say, you haven't seen anyone.

Click here to watch the Mbuta Mutu clip (2015 version)

I can confidently say, as I conclude, that every ear and every eye that Yondo Sister -- this '80s/'90s Girl, this female sapeur -- 'touched' with her voice, and her beguiling dance moves, surely none such remained ever the same. We are all the richer, who have heard her, and seen what she could do with her supple body; indeed, what magic became it. She is, and will forever be, at the very heart of #LingalaPop.

WATCH: A 1992 8-Clip Retrospective on Yondo Sister's Life as a Performing Artist

WATCH: A 2013 version of Yondo Sister's Mbuta Mutu

READ: Yondo Sister: A Biographical Sketch




NOTE: Much of the material in the second paragraph above first featured in my blog post titled LingalaPop, Volume 7.

LingalaPop, Volume 7

This is Volume 7 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 featured in that 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. 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. Lingala joined 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 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! 

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 has changed, and is no longer necessarily slow-motion music and low-energy dance. He is not alone in this view, as artistes like Ferre Gola, Claudia Bakisa, Cedric Embangu, Fally Ipupa, Heritier Watanabe and Fabregas Le Metis, among others, amply demonstrate.

My 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 7. 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, alas/happily, that even Volume 7 will not be the last. Opportunity and ambition -- which are good and energizing to have -- suggest that there's going to be a Volume 10, sometime. No one knows when.

About the video/audio clips included in Volume 7:
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. Fati Mata by Sam Mangwana (Audio 2009)
2. Aminata by Madilu System (Audio July 2017?)
3. Bizu Bizu by Claudia Bakisa (2018)
4. Cherie Enlevee Djino Kezipama by Cedric Embangu x JB Mpiana (2011)
5. Double Double by Nyboma (2014?) 
6. Faute ya Commercat by (Poet) Simaro Massiya Lutamba (Audio 1974/2009)
7. Cheri Enleve Integrale by Claudia Bakisa (2012)
8. Bakake by Mpongo Love (video 2014)
9. Mbuta Mutu by Yondo Sister (2015)
10. Double Face by Fabregas Le Metis (2018)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6:
1. LingalaPop, Volume 1
2. LingalaPop, Volume 2
3. LingalaPop, Volume 3
4. LingalaPop, Volume 4
6. LingalaPop, Volume 5 
7. LingalaPop, Volume 6

LingalaPop, Volume 6

This is Volume 6 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 associated with, or seen 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 features in that 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, invariably use in the included songs. In Tucheze, Ferre Gola sang a considerable chunk of the lyrics in 'heavy-accent' but recognizable Swahili, while VK sang her part almost entirely in English. Lingala joined them at the hip in terms of both tone and the flow (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 FG's celestial orbit. The same FG who in that piece sings not, shall I say, in lyrical Lingala but 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 which exemplify #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! 

In the present volume, 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 sung mostly in Swahili as well. However, Christian Bella renders his portion of the 'purely' Swahili lyrics in a decidedly Lingala accent. Arguably, this tilts the overall weight of the song's tonality in favour of 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 accent. 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.

My growing selection of #LingalaPop titles includes a significant 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 music 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 6. 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, alas/happily, that even Volume 6 will not be the last. There's going to be a Volume 7.

About the video/audio clips included in Volume 6:
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. Hellow by Linah ft. Christian Bella (2015)
2. Dance 4 Me Remix by J.Martins ft. Koffi Olomide (2015)
3. Kibombanda by Ferre Gola (2014)
4. Service by Fally Ipupa (2013)
5. Nagharamia by Alikiba x Christian Bella (2015)
6. Muzangila by Mbilia Bel (2017)
7. Bolingo by Makoma (2012)
8. Olla by Christian Bella ft. Khaligraph Jones (2017)
9. Cobetox by Koffi Olomide ft. Ferre Gola (2016)
10. Alidor by Koffi Olomide (2017)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5:

1. LingalaPop, Volume 1
2. LingalaPop, Volume 2
3. LingalaPop, Volume 3
4. LingalaPop, Volume 4
6. Lingala Pop, Volume 5 

LingalaPop, Volume 5

This is Volume 5 of this 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 associated with or seen 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 Congolese music. 

As previously indicated, Lingala features in that 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 a full-throttle sort of way. 

Nor is Lingala the language that Congolese artistes, or those that they sing with, invariably use in the included songs. In Tucheze, Ferre Gola sang a considerable chunk of the lyrics in 'heavy-accent' but recognizable Swahili, while VK sang her part almost entirely in English. Nigerian artiste J. Martins appears with Ferre Gola in Ekelebe, in Volume 4, with enough gravitational force to influence FG's celestial orbit. The same FG who in that piece sings not, shall I say, in lyrical Lingala but 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 previous four, showcases 10 video (or audio) clips which exemplify #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!  

My growing selection of #LingalaPop titles includes a significant 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 rather too generally, 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 music 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 5. 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, alas/happily, that even Volume 5 will not be the last. There's going to be a Volume 6 -- and a Volume 7.

About the video/audio clips included in Volume 5:
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. Zazou by Ferre Gola (2009) 
2. Reste by Barbara Kanam (2015) 
3. Orgasy by Fally Ipupa (2013)
4. Enemy Solo by Awilo Longomba ft. P-Square (2015)
5. Muzangila by Mbilia Bel (2017)
6. Ju[d]gement by Ferre Gola (2017)
7. Je t'en Prie by Koffi Olomide (2017*, 2012)
8. Gate le Coin by Awilo Longomba (2009)
9. Symposium by Koffi Olomide ft. Cindy le Coeur (2016)
10. "Ya Mado" Mascara by Fabregas Le Metis Noir (2018) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1, 2, 3 and 4:
1. LingalaPop, Volume 1
2. LingalaPop, Volume 2
3. LingalaPop, Volume 3
4. LingalaPop, Volume 4

LingalaPop, Volume 4

This is Volume 4 of this 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 associated with or seen in pop music, as broadly understood. I have even grouped what I consider to be stand-out examples of that kind of Congolese music under the hashtag given above. 

As previously pointed out, I have included Lingala in that 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 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 a full-throttle sort of way. 

Nor is Lingala the language that Congolese artistes, or those that they sing with, invariably use in the included songs. In Tucheze, Ferre Gola sang a considerable chunk of the lyrics in 'heavy-accent' but recognizable Swahili, while VK sang her part almost entirely in English. Nigerian artiste J. Martins appears with Ferre Gola in Ekelebe, in Volume 4, with enough gravitational force to influence FG's celestial orbit. The same FG who sings, shall I say, not in lyrical Lingala but bemusing English. Still, Lingala's tonal influence on both proceedings is not escaped, in whatever charming mix we may come upon the ingredients.

Volume 4, like the previous three, showcases 10 video (or audio) clips which on good grounds qualify to be labelled, and which therefore exemplify, #LingalaPop. Indeed, I think that the songs are the leading ones in that genre. Perhaps I should say: among the leading ones. 

My selection of #LingalaPop titles so far published has also been been mostly restricted to those about which I have made 'substantive' comments already (or have 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. 

But 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 music being produced these days -- and increasingly "all over". 

It would unduly lengthen the intervals between particular volumes in the series and, what's more, overwhelm any one commentator to endeavour to say something meaningful about each "drop", so to speak -- or even about "many enough" -- in any kind of timely fashion. That is, despite the fact that one's timing on one's blog is 'entirely' one's own. The lister's work is never done, experience teaches! Such comments as I have already made are available on this blog, and I give below the link associated with each listed song. Those that are not yet made will, hopefully in the main, follow. 

The songs listed 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, alas/happily, that even Volume 4 will not be the last. There's going to be a Volume 5 -- and perhaps a 6.

About the video/audio clips included in Volume 3:
You may have to Right Click the song of your choice on the list below, and then choose the "Open link in a new tab" option in order to watch or listen to the clip.

1. Billi by Kanda Bongo Man (2014)
2. Ekelebe by J. Martins ft. Ferre Gola (2016)
3. Napesi by Makoma (1999, 2012)
4. Porte Monnaie by Ferre Gola ft. Gout (2011)
5. La Beaute d'un Femme by Mbilia Bel (2017)
6. Robot by Koffi Olomide (2010, 2017)
7. Etoula by Diblo Dibala ft. Loketo (2017)
8. Perdue de Vue - Espelisa by Yondo Sister (2013, 2017)
9. Magastar by Heritier Watanabe (2018)
10. La Femme et L'argent by Diblo Dibala (2016) 



Find below links to previous Volumes ~ 1, 2 and 3:
1. LingalaPop, Volume 1
2. LingalaPop, Volume 2
3. LingalaPop, Volume 3

MUSIC (Lingala): Makolo ya Massiya by Carlyto Lassa

Some songs, like Carlyto's Makolo ya Massiya, you don't find. They find you. You just "bump into them", sort of, as some kind of a long planned-for prey into the spider's web. You get caught, entrapped by a sudden wave of inescapable verve and unbelievable melody of voice. A certain bewitching, air-filling moment of magical sounds. A wirtschaft (an economy) of (e)motion that belies great self-assurance and creativity in the singer.

I heard Makolo ya Massiya (Messiah's Heaven?) for the first time, I believe, today, around One. One of those songs you get to, unwittingly, via YouTube's "Up Next" app. Of course, my immediate impression was: Another great #LingalaPop discovery! So I checked the year of publication: December 7, 2017. Aha, pop! 

The title didn't at first mean a thing to me. I didn't even hear Yesu Massiya in the first round of play. But I did in the second. Ah, Gospel! Ah, Jesus the Messiah! A search for the lyrics and a quick scouring for telltale biblical words and phrases, which pass you by in the singing, confirmed the impression. I don't ordinarily do Gospel. But I have done some. My focus is pop. AfroPop. But it wouldn't let go. And then I couldn't:


Click to listen to the song's audio


 Carlyto is altogether master of all that hears him, and his band. He goes by several variations to his name, too: Carlyto Lassa, Frere Carlyto Lassa, Frere Carlyto, and Fr. Carlyto. But not stand-alone Carlyto. So be it. He sings in Lingala, and so must be Congolese (one reasons); not a reverse-migrant from Brazil or some other part of the Americas. There are hints of Samba, or Denge, in the tunes here; but this song is more decidedly a Soukous piece. It is sprinkled here and there with mild rapping. But spoken Lingala is music enough! The most musical of all African languages, if you ask me. The song runs for all of 9:11 out-of-this-world minutes.

Mesmerizing is the word with Makolo ya Massiya. It is cry-some cool in tone, in parts. It is solid-gold melody, and a super-laid back engagement.What angelic instrumentation all through it! This is a massive rendition, in all ways, of the inspired Word in lay tones.

There are several high points (two-digit seconds at a go) along the song that really resonate: 1:25-1:44, 2:25- 2:38, 6:02-6:32 and 7:20-7:59. And what a lilting, transporting, vocal coda at the end -- especially in the precious seconds from 8:29 to 8:44!

READ: Makolo ya Massiya Lyrics

NOTE: As I publish this post, the audio has a total of 21,729 'views' (that is, plays). 

Dansi Tu: Awilo Longomba's Bundelele Hyper-Danced by Ezinne Asinugo + Linton Clarke

Basi, All eyes on! Hear Awilo Longomba's tuneful Bundelele, as hyper-interpreted by two super-fit dancers, Ezinne Asinugo and Linton Clarke. Someone else makes a reluctant cameo appearance, and quickly warms up. He gives quite a show in that open air, and is soon gone. This is hot stuff somewhere on, praps, a sunny London street. If I got the city wrong, blame it on the double-decker. 

The singer's voice is pure Awilo, but some 'English' lines feature in the lyrics, brought in, somehow, from known sources. How that is, I don't know. The song is otherwise high-grade LingalaPop. 

Click to watch the hyper-dancing

The beat is 'too' good! It's fast-paced, but not too fast. It's muscular, but certainly not for laid-back Linton. We have a super-fine tune here, and Ezinne harvests it all to the last drop of juice -- and sweat. A feast for the eye, at once restrained and upbeat, for them Londoners; and for us who are all over 'other places', and all over Time, savoring it.


NOTE: This post was updated on this day, March 19, 2018. AS of this date (at 4:06 PM), the video had 4,784,097 views on YouTube.