Papa Wemba

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Papa Wemba, 2009

Papa Wemba (actually Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba ; born June 14, 1949 in Lubefu , Belgian Congo ; † April 24, 2016 in Abidjan , Ivory Coast ) was a singer, musician and actor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo . One of his nicknames was "King of the Congolese Rumba ". He set the style for the Sapeur movement.

Life

Papa Wemba, along with Nyoka Longo Jossart , Manuaku Pepe Felly , Evoloko Lay Lay , Teddy Sukami , Zamuangana Enock , Mavuela Simeon and others, was one of the first musicians to join the influential soukous band Zaiko Langa Langa when they joined in on December 24, 1969 in Kinshasa (capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) was founded.

In December 1974, at the height of their popularity and just a month after the Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa , Shungu Wembadio (Papa Wemba), Evoloko Lay Lay, Mavuela Somo and Bozi Boziana , who joined Zaiko Langa, left Langa had joined Zaiko Langa Langa a year earlier to set up her own musical group Isifi Lokole . ISIFI is the abbreviation for Institut de Savoir Ideologique pour la Formation des Idoles .

In July 1975, Shungu Wembadio officially adopted his stage name Papa Wemba. The addition "Papa" should be an allusion to his family responsibilities as a firstborn son, his parents had already died in the 1960s.

The Isifi Lokole formation only existed for a year. Her biggest commercial success was the single Amazone (Papa Wemba). In November 1975 Papa Wemba, Mavuela Somo and Bozi Boziana separated from Evoloko Lay Lay and Isifi Lokole to form the group Yoka Lokole together with Mbuta Mashakado . Yoka Lokole had a little less success than Isifi Lokole, but they still managed to stay at the forefront of African pop music with hits like Matembele Bangui , Lisuma ya Zazu (Papa Wemba), Mavuela Sala Keba and Bana Kin (Mavuela Somo).

Like Isifi Lokole, the Yoka Lokole formation did not last long. After a year of modest success, disputes within the band of Yoka Lokole over money and reputation (with Wemba's detention in Kinshasa Central Prison in December 1976 for the "crime" suspected of exchanging intimacies with a daughter of an army general) resulted in disputes within the band who made the situation difficult) Papa Wemba to found his own music group Viva la Musica in February 1977. This happened at his home in the Matonge neighborhood of Kinshasa. He worked with young talented musicians such as the singers Kisangani Esperant , Jadot le Cambodgien, Pepe Bipoli and Petit Aziza and the guitarists Rigo Star , Syriana and Bongo Wende . The group had almost immediate success with hits like Mère Superieure , Mabele Mokonzi , Bokulaka , Princesse ya Sinza and others.

At the height of its success in 1977, Papa Wemba's family home was a popular meeting place for the youth in Matonge. It was called Village Molokai , and Wemba adopted the upscale nickname Chef Coutûmier des Village Molokai . During this time Papa Wemba was referred to as the chief from the heartland (village) to distinguish him from the great musicians Mavuela Somo and Mashakado, who were born in Kinshasa.

Since 1977 Viva la Musica has been subject to frequent changes of musicians. Young talents such as King Kester Emeneya (1977–1982), Koffi Olomide (1978–1979), Djuna Djanana (1978–1981), Dindo Yogo (1979–1981), Maray-Maray (1980–1984), Lidjo Kwempa (1982–1981) 2001), Reddy Amissi (1982–2001), Stino Mubi (1983–2001) are among the more well-known Congolese musicians who played with Viva la Musica for a while.

An old anecdote from Kinshasa tells of a student named Antoine Agbepa Koffi, who was such a gifted songwriter that one day in 1977 Papa Wemba exclaimed: Ooh! l'homme idée (Oh! The man of ideas!), which immediately earned Koffi the nickname Olomide .

After the wave of African immigration in Europe in the 1990s, Wemba had a band in Kinshasa (then called Nouvelle Ecriture and Nouvel Ecrita ; today again Viva la Musica ) and another in Paris ( Nouvelle Generation , La Cour des Grands , today: Viva Tendance ). He also made his mark in world music with great hits such as L'Esclave (1986), Le Voyageur, Maria Valencia (1992), Foridoles, Dixième Commandement (1994), Emotion (1995), Pole Position (1996), Fula Ngenge (1999 ), Bakala dia Kuba (2001) and Somo Trop (2003) a permanent name.

In many places Wemba (similar to Franco Luambo , Tabu Ley Rochereau and Miriam Makeba ) was seen as a “living legend ” of African music.

Papa Wemba was also known as an actor. In 1987 he played the leading male role in the successful Zairean film La Vie est Belle by Belgian director Benoit Lami and Congolese producing director Ngangura Mweze. He also propagated the La Sape lifestyle (also known as the “Sapeur movement”).

In 2003 he was arrested in Paris for “aiding and abetting the entry and residence of foreigners without valid papers”. He was convicted in France and Belgium , where he served several months of a 15-month prison term.

In 2009 he wrote several songs for the African Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church ; he also gave a concert in Rome and a concert during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. in Cotonou in Benin.

Papa Wemba collapsed during a concert in Abidjan in April 2016 and died shortly after in hospital at the age of 66.

Cross-cultural influence

  • Priyan Weerappuli, the musical head of the Pahan Silu group from Sri Lanka , described Papa Wemba as one of his greatest musical influences.

Awards

Discography

  • Pauline (1970, Zaiko Langa Langa)
  • L'Amoureux Deçu (1972, Zaiko Langa Langa)
  • Mete la Verite, Chouchouna (1973, Zaiko Langa Langa)
  • Liwa ya Somo (1973–1974, Zaiko Langa Langa)
  • Ainsi va la vie, Amazone (1975, Isifi Lokole)
  • Matembele Bangi, Lisuma ya Zazu (1976, Yoka Lokole)
  • Mère Supérieure, Bokulaka, Mabele Mokonzi, Muana Molokai (1977)
  • Princesse ya Senza, Fleur Betoko, Zonga-Zonga (1978)
  • Anibo, Ata Nkale (1979)
  • Levre Rose (1979, with Rochereau & Afrisa)
  • Telegramme (1979, with Simaro Massiya & OK. Jazz)
  • Analengo (1980), Amena (1980, duo with Pepe Kalle)
  • Santa, Matebu (1980)
  • Melina La Parisienne, Ufukutano (1981)
  • Evenement, Rendre A Caesar (1982)
  • Eliana, Bukavu Dawa (1983)
  • Proclamation (1984, with Ngashie Niarchos)
  • Destin ya Moto (1985)
  • L'esclave, Papa Wemba - Au Japon (live) (1986)
  • Papa Wemba Ekumani (1987)
  • M'fono Yami (1989)
  • Biloko ya Moto-Adidas Kiesse (1991)
  • Le Voyageur (1992)
  • Foridoles (1994)
  • Emotion (1995)
  • Pôle Position (1996)
  • Wake-Up (1996, duo with Koffi Olomide)
  • Nouvelle Écriture (1997)
  • Molokaï (1998)
  • Nouvelle Écriture in L (1998)
  • Fula Ngenge (1999)
  • Muana Matebu (1999)
  • A La Une (2000)
  • Zea (2001)
  • Bakala Dia Cuba (2001)
  • Somo Trop (2003)
  • Muana Molokaï (2004)
  • Ba Zonkion (2005)
  • Bravo l'Artiste (2006)
  • Kaka yo (2008)
  • Somo trop (2008)
  • I'm Back (2010)

Web links

Commons : Papa Wemba  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Papa Wemba: Congo music star dies after collapsing on stage - BBC News. In: BBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2016 (UK English).
  2. ↑ a b Papa Wemba, king of congolese Rumba, dies on stage. telegraph.co.uk of April 24, 2016 (English), accessed April 24, 2016
  3. ↑ Deutschlandfunk: World music star Papa Wemba died , April 24, 2016
  4. ↑ African pop star: Papa Wemba is dead , Spiegel Online , April 24, 2016, accessed April 24, 2016
  5. ↑ Congolese zanger Papa Wemba overleden standaard.be of April 24, 2016 (Flemish), accessed on April 24, 2016
  6. ↑ Vatican praises late African pop star Papa Wemba , Vatican Radio , May 5, 2016
  7. ↑ Kora Awards 1996 koraawards.com (English), accessed on May 6, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Wemba, papa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kikumba, Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Congolese singer, musician and actor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Lubefu , Belgian Congo
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 2016
Place of death Abidjan , Ivory Coast