Pépé Kallé

Pépé Kallé , sometimes also written Pepe Kalle , with real name Kabasele Yampanya (born November 30, 1951 in Leopoldville , Belgian Congo , † November 28, 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ) was a Congolese singer , musician and band leader. He changed his birth name Kabasele Yampanya as a tribute to his mentor Le Grand Kallé .

With an over several octaves continuous range talented and dynamic stage presence, the 190 published cm wide (6 feet, 3 inches) and 136 kilograms (270 pounds) heavy singer during his 20-year career, more than 300 songs and 20 albums . Known under the affectionate top names "The Elephant of African Music" and "La Bombe Atomique", Kallé entertained the audience with his robust performances.

Musical career

He began his musical career with the band Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz . He later appeared in Bella Bella and became the lead singer of Lipua Lipua , where he sang alongside Nyboma Mwandido. In 1972 Kallé founded the band Empire Bakuba together with Dilu Dilumona and Papy Tex. The name came from a Congolese war tribe. The band became known within a short time. Together with Zaiko Langa Lang, she was one of Kinsha's most famous youth bands. With hits like Dadou by Pépé Kallé and Sango ya mawa by Papy Tex, the band was constantly in the charts. The band also invented the new dance Kwassa Kwassa .

For their tenth anniversary in 1982, the group was voted the most popular Zaires . Empire Bakuba continued to tour in the early 1980s while producing at least four albums each year. In the mid-1980s they had a huge fan base in francophone Central and West Africa. The album Zouke zouke was created in 1986 in collaboration with Nyboma and was one of the best-selling. Kallé worked again with Nyboma on the album Moyibi in 1988 and became popular all over Africa.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kallé fused elements of the fast-paced version of Soukous as it was produced in Parisian studios. His 1990 album Roger Milla - a tribute to the successful Cameroonian footballer - is a classic example of this style of music.

In 1992 the band suffered their first setback when the dance dwarf Emoro died while touring Botswana . Pépé Kallé's fame continued to rise when he released the albums Gigantafrique , Larger than Life and Cocktail . He also worked with other legendary musicians such as Lutumba Simaro and Nyoka Longo.

On November 28, 1998, Pépé Kallé died of a heart attack.

Web links

• Pepe Kalle at Africa Music Center (English)
• Pepe Kalle at Afropop (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pépé Kallé on kenyapage.net (English)