From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a prominent soukous musician. He is most famous for the structural changes he implemented to soukous music. The previous approach was to sing several verses and have one guitar solo at the end of the song. Kanda Bongo Man revolutionized soukous by encouraging guitar solos after every verse and even sometimes at the beginning of the song. His form of soukous gave birth to the kwassa kwassa dance rhythm where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips.
Like many soukous and rumba musicians before him, Kanda Bongo Man also had an entourage of musicians he played with. Many of Kanda's musicians later moved on to start their own solo careers. Most notably was Diblo Dibala. Known as the "Machine Gun", Diblo Dibala was a vital part of Kanda Bongo Man's lineup on several albums including Kwasa Kwasa and Amour Fou.
Kanda Bongo Man still tours frequently in Europe and the United States. On July, 2005 he performed at the LIVE 8: Africa Calling concert in Cornwall.
[edit] Discography
- Iyole (1981)
- Djessy (1982)
- Amour Fou (1984)
- Malinga (1986)
- Lela Lela (1987)
- Sai Liza (1988)
- Kwassa Kwassa (1989)
- Isambe Monie (1990)
- Zing Zong (1991)
- Sango (1992)
- Soukous in Central Park (1993)
- Sweet (1995)
- Welcome to South Africa (1995)
- Francophonix (1999)
- Balobi (2002)
- Swalati (2003)
[edit] External links
This article on a African singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
This article on an African musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
