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Empire Bakuba

Empire Bakuba
OriginKinshasa,  DRC
GenresCongolese rumba
Years active1972–2001
Past members

Empire Bakuba is an influential soukous band that formed in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1972. The name of the band refers to the Bakuba Kingdom; it is sometimes reported as Empire Bakuba du Grand Kalle, in honor of Grand Kalle, the "father of Congolese music", who was also bandleader Pepe Kalle's mentor. The band has never formally disbanded, although its activity has been scarce since Pepe Kalle's death (in 1998).

Core members of the group include singers Pepe Kalle, "Papy Tex" Matolu Dode, Dilu Dilumona, and lead singer, dancer, songwriter, choreographer and animateur Bileku Mpasi Djouna Mumbafu (Bigone). Djouna played a major role to popularize Empire Bakuba since 1980 at the age of 15 years when he was discovered by Pepe Kalle and brought into the Empire Bakuba Band, through November 1998, when Pepe Kalle died. Djouna Mumbafu continues to be active both with the current scarce Empire Bakuba band activity, and as a solo artist with his Orchestre Big One. Other members of Empire Bakuba include guitarists "Boeing 737" Kinanga Nanzao and "Doris" Ebuya Lange, Dokolos, Jolie Bebe and the dancer "Emoro" Tumba Ayila.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

History

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Empire Bakuba was founded in 1972 by Pepe Kalle, Papy Tex and Dilu Dilumona, who were all at the time members of Lipua Lipua, and had previously been part of neighbourhood band African Choc. They quickly established themselves as one of the leading youth bands of Kinshasa, becoming a constant presence in the Congolese charts[7] and a major part of the soukous scene in the 1970s and 1980s.

Compared to that of other popular soukous bands of the time, such as Zaiko Langa Langa, Empire Bakuba's sound was characterized by the strong influence of Congolese traditional and tribal music.[8] This also reflects in the kwassa kwassa, a dance style that was popularized by Empire Bakuba and later adopted by several other Congolese acts, most notably Kanda Bongo Man and Koffi Olomide. Empire Bakuba's live performances were highly scenographic, with frontman Pepe Kalle, who was six feet tall and weighing 300 pounds,[8] accompanied by dwarf dancer Emoro.

In 1992 the band had to face Emoro's sudden death. By this time, the apex of Empire Bakuba's success had passed, yet the group remained quite popular. Emoro was replaced by three Pygmy dancers and Empire's live performances became even more similar to circus shows.[8] When Pepe Kalle died in 1998, and his death was followed by a serious car accident involving Papy Tex. For a while, Empire Bakuba was considered by the media to have ceased to exist. By 1999, nevertheless, Papy Tex had recovered and become the new leader of the band, which released a few more albums. Papy Tex is still with Empire Bakuba, although the band has not been very active in recent years.[9]

Partial discography

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Note: The following discographic references have been retrieved from [9] and [10]

References

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  1. ^ "Rumba on the River". Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. ^ "20 years after Pepe Kalle's death, where are Empire Bakuba stars?". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 26 August 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Keba Na Mopepe Pepe Kalle Ft Djouna A C Djouna Mumbafu Bileku Mpasi Big One - Free download mp3". Mp3hot.cc. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Pepe Kalle". Golectures.com. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Empire bakuba pon moun baka bouger live originalè 1989". Videomuzik.biz. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Djouna Big-One". Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Search | English kasahorow". En.kasahorow.org. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b c [1] [dead link‍]
  9. ^ a b "Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Empire Bakuba & Pepe Kalle". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Empire Bakuba : News, discography, videos, informations". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2010.