Jabulani Library

SAAK SAKOUL OF THE MERCURIAL TRIO MADJESI

April 26, 2025 - 04:15 PM Congolese singer Bonghat Tshekebu, popularly known as Saak Saakul or Sinatra, formerly of Orchestre Sosoliso, died three years ago today.The musician passed away on the morning of Sunday, March 19, in a hospital in Paris, where he had been admitted. The then 80-year-old had been ailing for some time. Saak Saakul was a singer and composer with Orchestre Veve, led by the late Verckys Kiamuangana, a band he joined in 1969. He was the first of the three vocalists of the band, known collectively as Trio Madjesi—comprising Mario Matadidi, aka Mabele, originally from Angola, and Loko Masengo, aka Djeskain, originally from the Republic of Congo—to join the group.Alongside Bebe, the duo......

ACE SOLO GUITARIST LAMBERT BERESI DIES IN PARIS

April 24, 2025 - 06:17 PM Congolese ace solo guitarist Lambert Beresi has passed away. His death was announced on social media by Morden Miziki Congolese, a site dedicated to rumba music. According to the source, Beresi, popularly known as Bers, died in a hospital in Paris, where he had been admitted. He had been battling ill health since the COVID era in 2019.Beresi played with several bands both in the DRC and in Paris, but his most notable musical engagement, arguably the peak of his career, was as a soloist with Afrisa International in the mid-1980s. With this band, he contributed to at least three albums, earning him a place in the Congolese music hall of fame. He played in iconic songs such as Boya Ye, La......

BOYA YE LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

April 23, 2025 - 07:41 PM Oh mama aah aah Baseki ngai mingi na bato Boya ye eeh, boya ye eeh, boya ye eeh Batuni ngai mingi na bato Mobali nini ozali na ye Mosala te eeh, ndako te eeh, nkiti te eeh, falanga te eeh, mama a a a. Oh mama aah aah People laugh at me a lot Leave him, Leave him, Leave him People often ask me What type of husband did I marry? Without work eh, without a house eh, without furniture eeh, without money eeh, Oh dear. Okangi motema, o mama Bampasi nyoso okomona O mama aah, o mama aah Liputa moko okolata, osukoli mosusu mpe okozela ekawuka mama. You persevere All the problems you experience Oh mama ah, oh mama ah You wear one pair of panties You wash......

KADORI QUINTET YET ANOTHER DYNASTY OF KENYAN MUSIC

April 18, 2025 - 06:31 PM Across the world, siblings have excelled in different fields: academia, sports, art, etc. The "Pentagon" of the Kindiki professors recently captured the country’s imagination. These sons of Tharaka Nithi have shattered the glass ceiling in academia, attaining professorships in different disciplines. The most prominent of the five is Prof. Kithure Kindiki, Kenya’s current deputy president. Musically, we have the Mushrooms band. The band was formed in 1972 by five musical siblings from Kaloleni Giriama. They were led by the eldest, Teddy Kalanda Harrison, who, apart from heading the band, was also an astute composer, saxophonist, and vocalist. He is the composer of the evergreen......

EBALE YA ZAIRE LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

April 16, 2025 - 03:17 PM Masuwa ekonana Loseba ebeti. Masuwa ekonana Bolingo mpe enani. Masuwa ebungi oh na kati ya Londende Bolingo mpe ebungi na kati ya londende. Ngai na libongo naleli ii oh Mbole, Mama. The boat goes upstream. The siren sounds. The boat goes upstream, and my love does too. The boat has disappeared in the mist, and my love has also disappeared in the mist. Standing on the riverbank, I cried Mbole, dear. Chérie okendeke malamu Mbole e Elaka okomelaka ngai soki okomi Nayeba bolingo obosani ngai te oh Nandima bolingo ata ndele okozonga.Nazali se kozela mokolo masuwa ekozongaNgai awa ata sango ya mpamba Jeannie oh mama oh. My love, Mbole, have a good tripPromise me to write as soon as you......

ISAAC MUSEKIWA: THE SAX LEGEND OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

April 12, 2025 - 11:55 AM ISAAC MUSEKIWA, the legendary saxophonist of Rumba Congolaise, was far greater than the image traditionally portrayed: that of an occasional, ordinary sax player among many in the OK Jazz lineup.A tenor sax specialist, Musekiwa honed his craft at Opika Studios under the guidance of Belgian jazz musician Fud Candrix while performing with Grand Kallé’s African Jazz. He became one of the earliest indigenous Africans to rise as a professional saxophonist in Rumba Congolaise. His roots trace back to Zambia.Born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to Zambian parents, Musekiwa revealed during a 1973 visit to Tanzania with OK Jazz that he was the brother of Michael Enock, a......

THE STORY OF EVE NAMULANDA AND KECO International BAND

April 12, 2025 - 11:21 AM Kenya has only one woman-led band, KECO International, founded and led by Eva Namulanda. Over the past seven decades since the advent of recording technology, the country has seen only a marginal contribution by female musicians. This trend likely extends across East Africa and perhaps even to the musically rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Music remains a male-dominated industry, and a woman’s struggle to break through can be likened to tracing a black cat in total darkness. While some female musicians, like the legendary “Mama Africa” Miriam Makeba, rose to international fame through their own efforts, others, like Mbilia Bel, began their careers in the shadows......

KASONGO LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

April 08, 2025 - 02:00 PM KASONGO LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY ORCHESTRE SUPER MAZEMBE [Chorus] Kasongo ye ye ee Mobali na ngai [my husband]Kasongo nga nawe oo [Kasongo I am dying]Zonga libala ee [come back to the marriage] x2 Kasongo yo yo, mobali na ngai [Kasongo my husband] Kasongo nga nawe oo [Kasongo I am dying] Zonga libala ee [come back to the marriage] [Chorus] Nga na ndako Kasongo [while in the house Kasongo] miso na nzela [constantly staring at the street] Soki okozonga dia ee [if you will ever return] yebisa nga ye ee [let me know dear] [Chorus] Libala na ndako Kasongo [In this kind of marriage] batunaka......

TRACING LABAN OCHUKA'S FOOTPRINTS IN MUSIC

April 05, 2025 - 01:20 PM "Snakes give birth to long things." This saying helps explain why Dan Ochuka, son of Laban Ochuka, a superstar from the Maroon Commandos, is an accomplished musician, as were both of his parents.His mother, Agnes, was a professional mourner, a role that involved a great deal of music, while his father was a dancer of the traditional Abanyole dance known as Esirembe.Ochuka, one of Kenya’s finest musical sons, began his music career in the early 1970s in Ebunangwe, Emuhaya, in what is now Vihiga County, where he was born and raised. His earliest involvement in what would become a blossoming career began as a box guitar specialist, performing at funerals and entertainment joints.This......

THE CONGOLESE MUSIC & FASHION ICON

April 02, 2025 - 02:50 AM Papa Wemba collapsed and died on stage while doing what he loved most: music. A craft he had dedicated five decades to since his debut with Zaiko Langa Langa in 1969. Popularly known as Le Kuru, Papa Wemba was one of the greatest talents from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a land often regarded as the home of musical gods. His career was defined by three key elements: his unique voice, his ability to fuse genres, and his deep influence in fashion through La Sape, a movement in the DRC known for its flamboyant elegance. Perhaps nothing captured the magnitude of his loss more than the symbolic arrival of a Congo Airways plane named after Patrice Lumumba, the nation’s......