Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den

Makossa Original: A Blog Dedicated to Classic Makossa Music

By Dibussi Tande

Who was the founder of Black Styl, the greatest Makossa group of all time; Emil Kangue or Nkotti Francois? How did Makossa maestro Ben Decca look and sound like when he released Nyonga Mulema, his debut 12 inch 45 rpm maxi single, back in 1981?
 
The cover of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed "Black Styl à Paris" album (1978)

Can you still remember the cover of Mbemba' Iyo, the 1980 album that confirmed Dina Bell as a bona fide Makossa star, and which included classics such as Nginya Mulema and Nyuwe?

Undermining African Intellectual and Artistic Rights: Shakira, Zangalewa & the World Cup Anthem

By Dibussi Tande

During a tour of Cameroon in 1975, James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, met Tala Andre Marie, a budding Cameroonian blind singer and guitarist who had just released a funk number titled  Hot Koki. Tala gave him a copy of the record "to give him an insight into the kind of music being made in Cameroon". According to the Boston Globe, “Two years later, Brown dropped “Hustle!!!’’ –  with the same melody, beat, and arrangements, only with English lyrics.” Tala and his music label, Fiesta Records, gathered a team of lawyers who filed a law suit in the United States. After a drawn out battle that lasted four years, an American court concluded that James Brown had indeed used Tala’s song without authorization. Tala says there was very little financial fallout from the case, with the bulk of the money going to the lawyers. Tala nonetheless contends that it was a huge moral victory and good PR.

(Music) "Independance Cha Cha" - The African Independence Anthem

Composed in 1960 by Joseph Kabasele Tshamala (Grand Kalle), the father of Congolese music, Independance Cha cha, became the anthem of not only the nationalist movement in the Belgian Congo, but also the newly independent states of Africa. The song was was first played at the Hotel Plaza in Brussels on January 27 1960 during the round table talks that set the date for Congolose independence.

 Today we can opnly look back wistfully and that golden age of buoyant optimism and hope of a better future for Africa...

Indépendance cha cha tozui e
Oh! Kimpuanza cha cha tubakidi
Oh! Table Ronde cha cha ba gagné o
Oh! Dipanda cha cha tozui e

(Independence cha cha, we've won it
Oh! Independence cha cha, we've achieved it
Oh! The round table cha cha, we've pulled it off
Oh! Independence cha cha, we've won it)

Patience Dabany: The Forgotten Chapter in Omar Bongo's Storied Personal Life

For two decades, she was known as Josephine Bongo, the revered First Lady of the Republic of Gabon. Then in 1986, she and President Omar Bongo divorced. Josephine moved to Los Angeles and reinvented herself as a musician under the name Patience Dabany, collaborating along the way with the likes of Quincy Jones and James Brown.

Here is the former First Lady and mother of Ali Bongo, Omar's heir apparent, singing "C'est pour la vie”, one of her most popular songs which is a throwback to the golden era of Zairo-Congolese music of Pongo Love, Mbilia Bell, Abeti Masikini and others.

 

For more on Patience Dabany see her Wikipedia page and this RFI interview.

Charlotte Mbango: The Day the Music Died

Créer une playlist sur AfroMontreal.com >>

 

See also:
Thank you Ms. Charlotte Mbango

CAMEROONIANS MOURN CHARLOTTE MBANGO

Countdown to the Obama Inaugural: The Praise Song Cottage Industry

During the US presidential elections, a cottage industry emerged which specialized in churning out praise songs for Barack Obama – in fact, composing a song for Obama has developed into a new artform.

Here is what was arguably the most popular of the Obama praise songs, Mighty Sparrow's get-out-and-vote Calypse tune, Barack the Magnificent. Links to other less popular praise songs follow below.
 

Barack The Magnificent - The Mighty Sparrow

Text of song here.

Miriam Makeba Dies in Italy

  ROME (AFP) — South African singer Miriam Makeba has died aged 76 after being taken ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta following a concert, ANSA news agency reported Monday.

  
Miriam Makeba on Sunday in Castel Volturno, Italy, during her final concert 

She died overnight after taking part in a concert for Roberto Saviano, a writer threatened with death by the Mafia, the Italian agency said.

Miriam Makeba, known as "Mama Africa", was the legendary voice of the African continent who became a symbol of the fight against apartheid in her home country.

She died just after having sung for half an hour for the young author of "Gomorrah" at Castel Volturno near Naples along with other singers and artistes.

Videos - Miriam Makeba: A Lifetime of Music

Khawuleza (1966)

Pata Pata (2007)

For more on Miriam Makeba, including interviews, visit the NPR website.