Jabulani Library

FANS UNIMPRESSED BY 'FALLY'S LIP SYNC'

September 07, 2026 - 02:49 PM “Kenyans cannot be helped. You mean, with the crippling economy and the troubles, they paid KSh 10,000 to go watch Fally Ipupa lip-sync? Don't get me wrong. I love Lingala music. But only when it is real. My assessment is that Fally Ipupa's performance wasn't. Dr Miguna observed as debate over Congolese musician Fally Ipupa's concert at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi raged online. Dr Miguna, a Canada-based Kenyan lawyer and public intellectual, is known to comment on topical issues, but over the years, his opinion on matters of music has been rare. That he had a comment on this particular one tel...

AU REVOIR CARLITO

September 03, 2026 - 11:23 PM Eugene Magina, an Italy-based, award-winning dancer, is perhaps one of the biggest fans of the deceased Congolese singer Carlito Lassa. “I haven’t been able to sleep even for a wink, or settle at work, since I read the sad news of the demise of Carlito through the Jabulani page on social media,” Eugene Magina, popularly known as Wuod Okil, told this writer. To him, a musician with few peers had breathed his last, and it can’t be business as usual. Carlito’s singing was unique, and that perhaps was the magnet that got him hooked. He sang with ease, in a style that’s almost akin to that of the founding father of Congolese music, Grand Kalle, but again,......

CONGOLESE MUSICIAN CARLYTO LASSA IS DEAD

August 31, 2026 - 07:30 PM Congolese musician Carlyto Lassa is dead. The sad news was broken by fellow musician Jeannot Bell, who is based in London, in a post on Facebook. The post, however, did not divulge further details regarding the circumstances of his death. Carlyto, who was known for his melodious tenor voice, first made a name for himself alongside Debaba and Defao at Choc Stars, before joining OK Jazz, the legendary orchestra of Franco Luambo. He excelled with songs such as Maya and Affaire Kitikwala, both composed by Simaro Lutumba, among others. He also performed numerous nzing-nzong sessions with dozens of musicians. Among them was the ever-popular Bon Samaritain album by Papa Noël, which was......

THE QUEEN WITH AN ANGELIC VOICE

August 27, 2026 - 07:14 PM "Without the blues brought by the slaves in America, there's no R&B, there's no rock and roll, there's no soul music, there's no jazz. All of it comes from Africa." Angélique Kidjo recently told the BBC. Indeed, several prominent genres that have come to define music in the 21st century trace their roots to African folk songs. This begs the question, why is the continent's music industry not as developed as that of America and Europe, especially in terms of returns for musicians, advancement in recording technology, and well-defined distribution networks? Why do African musicians strive to ape the West in several aspects of their music and even dressing, yet they are supposed......

CHANDARANA:THE MUSIC PRODUCER WHO TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH

August 23, 2026 - 03:00 PM The history of the evolution of African music will never be correctly captured if the faces behind the establishment of the record companies that midwifed its development are left out of the debate, unmentioned. In the DRC, just like in Kenya and most other African countries, recording technology knocked on the doors in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Most of these companies were owned by European businessmen, as was the case with other enterprises, since this was the era when European influence was creeping into Africa, at the peak of the colonial era. In the DRC, for example, the first three record companies were Ngoma, Opika and Loningisa. They were all owned by Greek businessmen. They......

THE VINYL THAT OUTLIVES THE SILICON

August 11, 2026 - 06:02 PM I was sitting in the station archives at 2 AM last Tuesday, totally dead on my feet, digging through a stack of uncatalogued crates. I am definitely getting old. Anyway, I pulled out an old, beat-up sleeve, dropped the needle, and held my breath. Man. The room just exploded. This thick, warm, hypnotic groove hit me right in the chest. And then the math clicked in my head. Some of this stuff is closing in on seventy years old now. Nearly a full century of African music sitting right here in these cardboard boxes. And honestly? It still hits harder, swings deeper, and packs more raw soul than ninety percent of the autotuned junk cluttering up the charts today. The music was built to last......

SCHOLAR AND MUSICIAN

August 05, 2026 - 10:46 PM Driving into Kisumu, a port city on the shores of Lake Victoria, from the northern side offers one of the most picturesque views of the lakeside city, known for its vibrant nightlife and rich cultural heritage. It is in these hills that, on August 2, 1950, Enoch Okwach was born in his father Opondo's homestead. Like Harvard-educated Hillary Ng'weno, who trained as a physicist but excelled in journalism through The Weekly Review magazine, Okwach trained as a political scientist yet also made a name for himself as a musician. "Music is therapeutic. It has the magic that cures the soul," offers Enock in explaining why he pursued both music and academia with equal passion. Enock Okwach began......

KOBWAKA LIBANGA

July 28, 2026 - 02:41 PM Name Mentioning In Congolese Rumba Kobwaka Libanga literally translates as "throwing a stone." Nonetheless, in Congolese rumba, the phrase denotes the mention of a name in a song. It is a tradition that predates the genre itself, having been adopted from the folk music of the numerous Congolese cultures. It is also commonplace in other genres, Kenya's benga being one of them. Many aspects of this traditional music that found their way into the evolving genre did not last long, but some found a permanent home, kobwaka libanga being among them. "Maina," a song by first-generation musician Henrique Tinapa, was composed in praise of a friend by that name. "Anduku Lutshuma" was composed by OK......

THE PAST IS THE PRESENT

July 23, 2026 - 11:14 PM For decades, calling a song "retro" was just a polite way of writing it off as outdated. It immediately brought up memories of dusty cassette tapes in a glovebox, late-night radio shows, or sitting around with family over nyama choma and a cold drink. It felt like music strictly meant for older folks clinging to their younger days. Honestly, that label was always way off the mark. Great music doesn't carry an expiration date. You can take a track recorded in a cramped studio back in 1970 and drop it in 2026, and it will stop you in your tracks just as hard as the day it hit vinyl. These songs never died because the music got bad. They vanished because distribution broke down, piracy gutted......

THE BAOBAB THAT HAS SURVIVED MANY STORMS

July 08, 2026 - 06:46 PM Lokuta eyaka na ascenseur, kasi vérité eyei na escalier mpe ekomi. (A lie prefers to take the lift and travels very fast, while the truth takes the stairs. It comes slowly, but eventually arrives.) These words came to my mind when Prof. Larry Gumbe listed Koffi Olomide among the three musicians he ranks highest in terms of weaving poetic lyrics. He also listed Simaro Lutumba and Franklin Boukaka as the other two, in a conversation that also involved veteran music producer and writer Tabu Osusa, who gave his own list as Tabu Ley Rochereau, Franklin Boukaka, and Simaro Lutumba. That Koffi Olomide is also increasingly being recognized as one of the musicians whose work......

Jabulani Library

FANS UNIMPRESSED BY 'FALLY'S LIP SYNC'

AU REVOIR CARLITO

CONGOLESE MUSICIAN CARLYTO LASSA IS DEAD

THE QUEEN WITH AN ANGELIC VOICE

CHANDARANA:THE MUSIC PRODUCER WHO TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH

THE VINYL THAT OUTLIVES THE SILICON

SCHOLAR AND MUSICIAN

KOBWAKA LIBANGA

THE PAST IS THE PRESENT

THE BAOBAB THAT HAS SURVIVED MANY STORMS

News

Jabulani Library (279)

Jabulani Swahili (9)

Rumba Chronicles (30)

Programs

JABULANI TOP 7 AT 7

WEEKEND RHUMBA OVERDOSE REPLAY

TOP 10 AT 10

WEEKEND SOUKOUS ODYSSEY

BENGA BLAST

RHUMBA REVIVAL

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

Jabulani Library

FANS UNIMPRESSED BY 'FALLY'S LIP SYNC'

AU REVOIR CARLITO

CONGOLESE MUSICIAN CARLYTO LASSA IS DEAD

THE QUEEN WITH AN ANGELIC VOICE

CHANDARANA:THE MUSIC PRODUCER WHO TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH

THE VINYL THAT OUTLIVES THE SILICON

SCHOLAR AND MUSICIAN

KOBWAKA LIBANGA

THE PAST IS THE PRESENT

THE BAOBAB THAT HAS SURVIVED MANY STORMS

News

Jabulani Library (279)

Jabulani Swahili (9)

Rumba Chronicles (30)

Programs

JABULANI TOP 7 AT 7

WEEKEND RHUMBA OVERDOSE REPLAY

TOP 10 AT 10

WEEKEND SOUKOUS ODYSSEY

BENGA BLAST

RHUMBA REVIVAL

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

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