Jabulani Library

SAMBA MAPANGALA: FROM CONGO TO THE WORLD

September 25, 2025 - 10:48 PM "Samba is easily the greatest of all Congolese musicians ever to set base in Nairobi," opines Jacob Owiyo, a football coach and music fan from Nairobi. He goes ahead to expound on the factors that make him come to that conclusion, beginning with Samba’s natural singing voice. Apart from being a vocalist, Jacob, who first met Samba in Mombasa in 1977, says Samba mostly composed songs themed on subjects that resonated with society, making his songs everyone’s favourite. That’s not all. He explains that Samba did several of his songs in Kiswahili, and this endeared him to Kenyans more than...

DJO DJO IKOMO DIES IN KINSHASA SHORTLY AFTER REUNITING WITH HIS KENYAN DAUGHTER

September 22, 2025 - 05:25 AM The rumba flag is flying at half-mast once again, following the demise of Congolese musician Djo Djo Ikomo in Kinshasa after a long battle with illness. News of his passing was first made public by Mfumu Kimbangu of KBC Radio in Nairobi. Djo Djo Ikomo, also known as Ikomo Ingange, was a phenomenal composer and singer from the early 1970s, an era defined by some pundits as the genre’s most productive. Born in Mbandaka in 1952, Djo Djo debuted with Orchestre Tabou Nationale in 1970 before joining Orchestre Vévé. There, he became part of the band’s formidable singing line-up alongside Pascal Mangwana, Ramazani Nkalu-luaka, Tusevo Nejos, and the late Pepito, shortly......

BON SAMARITAN LINGALA LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

September 19, 2025 - 05:00 PM Artist: Papa Noel Music: Bon Samaritain (Good Samaritan) 1) Ba lobelaka moto likambo mbala mokoAyeba likambo azali ko sala ehBa lobelaka moto likambo mbala mokoAyeba likambo azali ko sala ehBa pekisaka moto likambo na tina ehSoki aboyi, botika ye ameka nzotoBa pekisaka moto likambo na tina ehSoki aboyi botika ye ameka nzoto eh1) You can only advise somebody onceSo that he can be aware of what he is doingYou can only advise somebody onceSo that he can be aware of what he is doingYou can only advise somebody if you have a causeIf he doesn’t care, let him face consequencesYou can only advise somebody if you have a causeIf he doesn’t care, let him face consequences2) Ba lobelaka......

SUZANNA OWIYO’S JOURNEY TO THE TOP

September 17, 2025 - 05:35 AM "Kisumu 100," a song by Suzanna Owiyo, was all the organizers of the Kisumu centenary celebrations needed. The song summed up the story of the city in a brief but conclusive narration. The fusion of traditional Luo beats, which are dominant in the region, with touches of modernity, capped it off well. This song tells the history of a city that began as an arena for barter trade, or "Sumo," where communities exchanged the goods they produced for those from their neighbors. It wasn’t until the railway arrived that the traditional sounds which defined the area began to disappear, gradually giving way to modern influences. "Ndege aidho tera Winam yeeh Aidho gari tera Wigot Mtoka aidho......

M'BILIA BEL INJURED IN ROAD ACCIDENT

September 10, 2025 - 04:32 AM Congolese songbird Mbilia Bel, born Marie Claire Mboyo, was involved in a road accident early in the morning of September 9, 2025, on her way to N’djili International Airport, alongside her promoter, Jules Nsana. Both sustained injuries and were rushed to a hospital in Kinshasa for treatment. Their conditions were later described as stable, with Mbilia suffering injuries to her head and legs. A family member was quoted as saying, “Mbilia was unharmed, but hospitalized for precautionary medical observation.” Nsana also sustained injuries and is being treated at an undisclosed hospital in Kinshasa. The Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP), the country’s official news......

IS BENGA ON ITS WAY TO EXTINCTION?

September 08, 2025 - 07:36 PM Just as Christianity was born in the Middle East, adopted by Europeans who nurtured it, and finally domesticated in Africa, benga was born in Nyanza, popularized across the whole country, and later domesticated by the Kamba. If one were to sample the best benga songs recorded in the last decade, there would be very little, if anything, from the genre's ancestral home in Nyanza. It's Kamba musicians who've, over time, remained faithful to this music, which has also been identified as the most predominant beat in Kenya, especially after the decline of twist. Is benga on its way to extinction? This is a reality that should worry music enthusiasts and stakeholders. Nyanza was the......

FRANCO LUAMBO MAKIADI : 12600 LETTERS LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

September 05, 2025 - 02:00 AM Franco Luambo Makiadi12600 Letters Lyrics Translation1) Why sistersDon’t like theirBrothers wivesWhy sistersDon’t like theirBrothers’ wives?1) Bandeko ya basi yo yo yoBalingaka basi ya bandeko mibali teMpo na nini oh yo yo yoBandeko ya basi yo yo yoBalingaka basi ya bandeko mibali teMpo na nini oh, yo yo yo2) God forbid people whoAre related to marry.Someone else will come from far away and marry your relative.Why annoyance inCouples?2) Nzambe aloba na mokiliOkoki kobala ndeko na yo te.Mutu mosusu akowuta mosika akobala ndeko na yo.Mpo na nini motungisiNa mabala oh?3) God said mary and create your own family.Your sister will mary and create her own family.We want......

TSHALA MWANA NASI NABALI LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

September 01, 2025 - 09:21 PM SYNOPSIS "Nasi Nabali" by Tshala Muana is a song that celebrates the joy and new identity that come with marriage. The title, Nasi Nabali, translates to "I Am Married," sets the stage for the entire theme. In the song, Mamu International addresses her friends, declaring that she is no longer single. She proudly announces that she has found her man and now wears a ring on her finger. She asks her friends and other admirers to respect her new status, telling them to stop winking at her or acting as if she's still available. The song emphasizes that marriage is a source of pride and honor for a woman. The lyrics use metaphors like a piece of metal looking better when it's painted to express......

CHURCHES: THE NEW HOTSPOTS FOR AUTHENTIC MUSIC

August 28, 2025 - 11:27 AM “Church is where the money is. Musicians will follow it there.” These are the words of Lenga, former bandleader of O Rangers, the official band of 9KR, a KDF infantry force domiciled at Moi Barracks in Eldoret. Jabulani Radio had sought his insights on the evolution of Kenya’s military bands, but in the course of the conversation, the discussion veered into the broader subject of music, its consumption, and its shifting fortunes. Lenga, who had led O Rangers for years, explained that the band folded after military sponsorship dwindled. Among the reasons for the reduced sponsorship were changing trends in how people consume music. In the 1970s and 1980s, live bands were......

CHRISTOPHER MONYONCHO: THE GUSII TOWERING MUSICAL ICON

August 23, 2025 - 02:00 PM Just Who Was Christopher Monyoncho? This is the question many commentators online kept asking after a short Tiktok clip by Kamba guitar sensation Tumbo Usu went viral. In the clip, Tumbo displays impressive finger dexterity on the fretboard, showcasing his guitar expertise by performing an old Benga song titled Safari ya Kericho, originally sung by Kijana Musyoki and his Kimangu Boys Band. The song, which was a regular feature on KBC radio in the 1990s, seemed to evoke fond memories for many. The viral clip rekindled nostalgia and curiosity, particularly around the song’s subject matter. It was done as a tribute by the Kamba Benga supremo in recognition of his Kisii counterparts, a......

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