Jabulani Library: Most Popular

A GLIMPSE OF PAPA NOEL'S MUSICAL JOURNEY

January 23, 2025 - 08:00 AM "Simplify it," Franco suggested persuasively."We have a long list of songs to rehearse," The late Grand Maitre Luambo had descended a floor down the Un-Deux-Trois building, from the UMUZA office to the ground floor where the band was practising, to intervene. At the time, Grand Maitre Luambo headed UMUZA, the musician's association, as such it was headquartered at his club, Un-Deux-Trois, which housed his orchestra, OK Jazz.From his offices one floor up, he had heard the band guitarists mark time, struggling to master some jazz chords that had been introduced to them by Papa Noel, who insisted that they had to master.Franco, himself being an astute guitarist who manoeuvered the......

GRAND KALLE: THE FATHER OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

January 18, 2025 - 11:00 AM 'Mongongo kitoko, tokozua yango lisusu wapi?' This is Tabuley in his song, In Memoriam, in which he collaborated with another titan, Franco. In the song, he is extolling the greatness of Grand Kalle, wondering aloud where the music world can find such a melodious voice, now that the musician is no more. Tabuley himself was considered one of the greatest voices of Rumba Congolaise. For him to declare that someone is as great means that person was exceptionally good. American jazz musician Yves François, who heads a group known as Rocambu (whose name was largely inspired by the Congolese studio ensemble of the late 1950s, Rock A Mambo), also once stated that of all singers of the......

MBARAKA MWINSHEHE MWARUKA

January 08, 2025 - 01:00 PM MBARAKA MWINSHEHE MWARUKA “Hakuna kitu kibaya sana humu duniani kama shidaHaichagui mtu siku wala miaka oh oh ohHaina katu taarifa shida wengi shida bila hodiSi mtoto wala mkubwa wote shida...Kila siku shida Shida haiishi hadi siku ya mwisho oh ohh...” These are the lyrics from one of the many songs that used to be played early in the mornings on the Voice of Kenya radio, now KBC. The man behind these immortal words was Tanzanian singer Mbaraka Mwaruka Mwinshehe, who died 38 years ago. Mbaraka was born on June 27, 1944, and was the second born in a family of 12 children. His father, Mwinshehe Mwaruka, was a clerk at one of the big sisal farms in Tanzania. But the early......

OK JAZZ GREATEST COMPOSER OF ALL TIMES

January 08, 2025 - 11:15 AM 'Babotoli ya malili', the air conditioner has been confiscated. This is a line from Franco's hit "Mokolo Tonga," known as "Taileur." The other line is: "Okomi komona pasi ya bangungi, okomibeta mbata na nzoto." The second line, translated, means you will be slapping yourself like everyone else to chase marauding mosquitoes from your face. The song was composed while Franco was incarcerated at Makala prison for composing and recording songs that were considered explicit. He was chiding Kengo Wa Dondo, who had been the country’s attorney but had since been fired from the job. The song is just a tip of the iceberg in a bid to illustrate who was the master composer at OK Jazz.......

MPONGO LOVE BIOGRAPHY

January 06, 2025 - 11:50 AM BIOGRAPHY OF MPONGO LOVE M’Pongo Love, whose real name Alfride M’Pongo Landu is a Congolese musician. She is well known for her soft soprano voice but even more importantly she succeeded in becoming a successful musician despite being disabled. Along with Mbilia Bel, Tshala Mwana, and Abeti Masikini, she is considered one of the greatest female Congolese musicians. MPONGO LOVE’s CHILDHOOD AND EARLY CAREER She was born August 27, 1956, in Boma, a city on the Congo River near the western African coast Her father was an army officer in charge of a military base. Her mother was the director of a social center for the education of girls. In 1960, she......

BOYA YE LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

January 02, 2025 - 09:00 PM LINGALA LYRICS Oh mama ahOh mama ahBaseki nga mingi na batoBoya ye ehBoya ye ehBoya ye ehOh mama ahOh mama ahOh mama ahBatuni nga mingi na batoMobali nini oza nayeMosala te, Ndako teKiti te, falanga teOh mama ahOh mama ahOh mama ahMokangi motema oh mamaBapasi nioso okomonaOh mama ahOh mama ahOh mama ahLiputa moko okolataOsukoli mosusu pe okozela ekawuka mama ahOh mama ahOh mama ahOh mama ahBato bakoseka eh, bato bakoloba ehBoya ye ehBoya ye ehBoya ye ehBato bakofinga eh, bato bakotongo ohKima ye ehKima ye ehKima ye ehOh mama ahOh mama ahOh mama ahLiputa nioso epasuki ehEeh Mwana Panzu na nga ahKipungi nioso enzuluki na nzoto ehNga nameseni na nga ahBapasi nioso nakomonaLelo po na lingui......

THE MYSTERY OF THE MALAIKA COMPOSER AND MBOYA'S CONTRIBUTION

December 29, 2024 - 07:21 PM BY JEROME OGOLA When Kenyan pugilist Robert Nangila was boxed to death in Las Vegas in 1994, a bizarre tussle on who his father emerged with a dozen guys coming up to claim paternity. This could definitely be attributed to his success in the ring, being the only African to win a gold medal in the Olympics and with this kind of achievement, the former star boy had definitely built an enormous financial empire. Malaika is undoubtedly the most popular Swahili song. The ballad has traversed the world, recorded hundreds of times by different musicians, and performed uncountable times. The song is the 'Guantanamera' of East Africa. It hasn't just happened. It has been there for many......

MAKEBA: MAMA AFRICA

December 23, 2024 - 12:47 PM By Jerome Ogola She performed in Kenya's independence fete in Nairobi in 1963, she carried the Name of Mama Africa, for wearing the face of resilience and determination, she became the most successful African female musician, she was an anti-apartheid crusader, and this isn't all. She collaborated with American calypso legend Harry Belafonte in 1965, in a venture that yielded the 15-track album, A Evening with Belafonte and Makeba, she was once married to Jazz superstar Hugh Masekela, she spent almost her entire life exiled abroad and only made a return when South Africa gained independence in the early 1990s. She is Mirriam Zenzile Makeba. All these accolades don't adequately......

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRANKLIN BOUKAKA

December 18, 2024 - 05:31 PM Franklin Boukaka was a rare and extraordinary talent whose artistry transcended music to embody the spirit of resistance and activism. Franklin Boukaka (October 10, 1940 - about February 23–24, 1972) was a Congolese baritone singer, guitarist, and songwriter who is recognized as one of the pioneers of Congolese popular music. He performed in bands based on each of "the two Congos," i.e., the countries now named the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was a gifted composer, poet, and musician, Boukaka's life was tragically cut short at the age of 32 when he was executed in 1972 following a failed coup in Congo-Brazzaville.......

TSHALA MUANA: THE SONGBIRD OF DRC

December 10, 2024 - 03:00 PM By Jarome Ogola. Tshala Muana is easily one of the most recognized and celebrated African female musicians. In the mid-1980s, she was a household name across the region with her songs, receiving regular airplay in many radio programs. Her hit song 'karibu yangu' gained wild popularity in entertainment joints. The showmanship that was introduced to Congolese music by James Brown, in the 1974 boxing bout concert, between the legendary Mohammed Ali and George Foreman, popularly known as 'Rumble in the Jungle ‘and perfected by local bands like Orchestre Sosoliso and Orchestre Stukas, found a continuation into the 1980s through Tshala's powerful stage performances. Her dancing......

Jabulani Library: Most Popular

A GLIMPSE OF PAPA NOEL'S MUSICAL JOURNEY

GRAND KALLE: THE FATHER OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

MBARAKA MWINSHEHE MWARUKA

OK JAZZ GREATEST COMPOSER OF ALL TIMES

MPONGO LOVE BIOGRAPHY

BOYA YE LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

THE MYSTERY OF THE MALAIKA COMPOSER AND MBOYA'S CONTRIBUTION

MAKEBA: MAMA AFRICA

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRANKLIN BOUKAKA

TSHALA MUANA: THE SONGBIRD OF DRC

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Jabulani Library: Most Popular

A GLIMPSE OF PAPA NOEL'S MUSICAL JOURNEY

GRAND KALLE: THE FATHER OF CONGOLESE RUMBA

MBARAKA MWINSHEHE MWARUKA

OK JAZZ GREATEST COMPOSER OF ALL TIMES

MPONGO LOVE BIOGRAPHY

BOYA YE LYRICS WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

THE MYSTERY OF THE MALAIKA COMPOSER AND MBOYA'S CONTRIBUTION

MAKEBA: MAMA AFRICA

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FRANKLIN BOUKAKA

TSHALA MUANA: THE SONGBIRD OF DRC

News

Artist Spotlight (22)

Editor's Choice (25)

Jabulani Library: Most Popular (46)

Jabulani News Archive (29)

Music Lyrics (54)

Playlists (3)

Playlists 2 (0)

RhumbaChronicles2 (0)

Trending (20)

Programs

WEEKEND RHUMBA TWILIGHT MIX

WEEKEND SOUKOUS ODYSSEY

BENGA BLAST

RHUMBA REVIVAL

WEEKEND ZILIZOPENDWA MIX

WEEKEND RHUMBA MIX

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

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