Jabulani Library

DIBLO DIBALA BIOGRAPHY

December 09, 2024 - 04:00 PM Diblo Dibala, often known simply as Diblo, is a Congolese soukous musician, known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the guitar. He was born in 1954 in Kisangani. He moved to Kinshasa as a child, and aged 15 won a talent competition which led to him playing guitar in Franco's TPOK band. Dibala remained with the group for only a short period, going on to play with Vox Africa, Orchestra Bella Mambo, and Bella Bella, in which band he first played with Kanda Bongo Man. Diblo earned his musical reputation in Paris, but he began his career in Congo-Kinshasa, playing in relative obscurity with Bella Mambo, an offshoot of the popular band Bella Bella. Together with singer Kanda Bongo Man,......

THE MAGIC IN NYBOMA'S VOCALS

December 08, 2024 - 09:05 PM In a tète-à-tète with one top Congolese musician who has worked with almost all the genre's big bands, he confided to Jabulani that Nyboma was the greatest singer DRC ever had. The musician who had wished to remain anonymous opened up that Nyboma's smooth high tenor is ranked top notched in the industry and thus the explanation there was a scramble for him in the early 1970s, with everyone salivating for a bit of the singing sensation. To buttress his point, the said musician threw in two songs, Kamale which Nyboma did with Orchestra Lipua Lipua, and Ayi Djo which he did with Orchestra Kamale. Indeed, Nyboma's singing prowess in the two songs is very exceptional. To......

LOKASSA YA M'BONGO

December 08, 2024 - 08:26 AM In the world of Congolese music, where lead guitarists often take the spotlight, Lokassa ya M'bongo stands out as a rhythm guitarist who achieved stardom. His journey began in 1968 with one of Africa’s greatest bands, Afrisa, led by the legendary Tabu Ley Rochereau. Initially, the band was known as African Fiesta Nationale, and Lokassa spent years in the background, playing alongside prominent musicians like Attel Mbumba, Michelino Mavatiku Visi, and Dino Vangu. For a decade, he contributed to the success of Afrisa’s hits and performed on the international stage, including the band's breakthrough shows at the Olympia in Paris in 1970. In 1978, during an Afrisa tour, Lokassa,......

KASONGO TRENDS

December 07, 2024 - 01:23 PM Do you want your son to become a musician? Name him, KASONGO. It is a musician's name. 1. ANTOINE KASONGO is the first generation who recorded at Ngoma in the 50s. His peers were Paul Mwanga, Camile Feruzi, Leon Bukassa, Wendo Nkolosoy, Henri Bowane, my favorite musician Henrique Tinapa, etc. Franco, Grand Kale, Tabuley, Bavon, etc. are second generation, and Lipua Lipua, Bela Bela, Zaiko, Kamale, etc, are third generation. 2. RONDOT KASONGO WA KASONGO, the bald head OKJ sax player. Kasongo, who joined in 1969, replacing Verckys, died of lung cancer in the 90s. He was a consistent figure in OKJ songs, and you'd easily mistake him for part of the band's sound system, which is comprised......

THE BIRTH OF KASONGO

December 06, 2024 - 12:05 PM One evening, Katele and Dodo Doris, both musicians with Super Mazembe, thought it was time to visit their colleague Kasongo Songoley in his Pipeline Estate abode in Nairobi. They only found his wife. Kasongo, who was a guitarist, was missing. Upon inquisition on the whereabouts of their colleague, the wife responded by stating that she, too, had not seen him for several days. Apparently, the musician hadn't been home for several days. The wife was worried because the family was running short of supplies. The woman narrated her tribulations to her husband's colleagues with the intention that the duo may prevail upon him to shape up his wayward ways. Musicians being musicians joked about......

JOE MOPERO: KENYAN MUSICAL SUPERSTAR

December 05, 2024 - 06:32 PM From right: Moreno Batamba, Joe Mopero, Muhindi Joseph :behind Muhindi, on rythm is Kiarie extreme left Moses khayesa."Slim Ali and Kelly Brown are undoubtedly Kenya's all-time finest musicians," Joe Mopero told Jabulani Radio. "When a giant points in a direction and tells you that's a giant, then what you are being shown must indeed be a humongous mammoth." The founder and bandleader of Zambezi Band is easily one of the country's most glowing musicians, given his consistency and the popularity of his songs over the decades. His heavy baritone booms through the hall when his band is performing. Coupled with his composing prowess, guitar skills, and mastery of the Lingala language, Joe......

BA CHAGRIN LYRICS BY MAYAULA MAYONI WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

December 03, 2024 - 03:22 PM Topesanaki elaka eeh,(We had a promise to each other)ngai na cherry nanga aah,(between I and my love/sweetheart)akei mobembo kaka posa misato ooh,(when he was going on a journey that would take him only three weeks)soki akomi epayi ya akei eeh,(that when he arrives where he was going)Akomela nga aah,(he would write me)ata mokanda ya pamba(a mere letter)esula jenga aah,(to soothe/console me)lelo zela oyo esuki kaka na commercial,(today that promise has ended up to be like waiting for a commercial advert)Tokomi mbula misato epayi nakabwela monzela aah,(It's now three years waiting still for him)kaka molema aah ngo ya ooh,(it's only my soul that knows how)nataka kufa eeh,(I really wish to......

ATOMIC, THE BOMB MEANT TO FLATTEN JAMHURI JAZZ

November 30, 2024 - 08:00 PM Just like deprivation, rivalry begets creativity. Some of the most popular rumba songs, ie 'mokolo tonga aka taileur' of Franco or 'Jela' of Ochieng Kabasele, were composed while the musicians were incarcerated at Makala prison In Kinshasa and King'ong'o Prison in Kenya, respectively. The same can be said of rivalry. At peak of their careers, Tabuley and Luambo oftentimes sought to outdo each other and this urge worked wonders in pushing creativity a notch higher. When Tabuley and Nico disagreed over the management of African Fiesta Original, the altercation led to the creation of two of the finest bands: African Fiesta Sukisa and its sibling, African Fiesta National, which......

Biography of Afrisa International

November 30, 2024 - 10:00 AM BIOGRAPHY OF AFRISA INTERNATIONAL This was a renowned Congolese rumba band, formed (as African Fiesta 66) in 1966; and disbanded in 1996. Notable early members: Henriette "Miss Bora" Borauzima (born Kisangani, Congo-Kinshasa, Sept. 21, 1945; vocal), Roger Izeidi (born Kinshasa, Nov. 20, 1935; died Kinshasa, Jan. 2001; maracas, vocal), Rene "Karé" Kassanda (born Bakwa-Sumbu, Congo-Kinshasa, Sept. 10, 1945; vocal), Dominique "Willy" Kuntima (born Kinshasa, July 31, 1931; died Kinshasa, Jan. 25, 1972; trumpet), Sam Mangwana(born Kinshasa, Feb. 21, 1945; vocal), Joseph Mwena (born Congo-Kinshasa, 1932; bass), Armand Samou (born Kinshasa, Jan. 5, 1935; died Kinshasa, 1984?; saxophone),......

11 YEARS, AGO TABULEY RESTED

November 30, 2024 - 02:41 AM "In my entire career, I've done more than 2,000 songs" Tabuley told Obachi Machoka of Roga Roga, a rumba radio show by Citizen Radio of Nairobi. "Do you know all the songs?" The veteran radio presenter asked shockingly, in response. "I can't mention them all, off head, but if you play any of my songs, I will tell you that's my song He responded. From reputable sources, corroborated by enumerating by Jabulani radio on what's available of his discography, the number seems an outright exaggeration, but that doesn't in any way erode the near god-ship status that Tabuley holds in the heart of music lovers. Born Pascal Emmanuel Simamoyi Tabou, in Bagata, Kwilu Province in Congo,......

Jabulani Library

DIBLO DIBALA BIOGRAPHY

THE MAGIC IN NYBOMA'S VOCALS

LOKASSA YA M'BONGO

KASONGO TRENDS

THE BIRTH OF KASONGO

JOE MOPERO: KENYAN MUSICAL SUPERSTAR

BA CHAGRIN LYRICS BY MAYAULA MAYONI WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

ATOMIC, THE BOMB MEANT TO FLATTEN JAMHURI JAZZ

Biography of Afrisa International

11 YEARS, AGO TABULEY RESTED

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Rumba Chronicles (24)

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Weekend Rhumba Twilight Mix

Weekend Soukous Odyssey

Benga Blast

Rhumba Revival

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Jabulani Library

DIBLO DIBALA BIOGRAPHY

THE MAGIC IN NYBOMA'S VOCALS

LOKASSA YA M'BONGO

KASONGO TRENDS

THE BIRTH OF KASONGO

JOE MOPERO: KENYAN MUSICAL SUPERSTAR

BA CHAGRIN LYRICS BY MAYAULA MAYONI WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION

ATOMIC, THE BOMB MEANT TO FLATTEN JAMHURI JAZZ

Biography of Afrisa International

11 YEARS, AGO TABULEY RESTED

News

Jabulani Library (230)

Jabulani Swahili (8)

Rumba Chronicles (24)

Programs

Weekend Rhumba Twilight Mix

Weekend Soukous Odyssey

Benga Blast

Rhumba Revival

Weekend Zilizopendwa Mix

Weekend Rhumba Mix

Latest podcasts

Legend Franco Luambo Makaidi

Find us on

Contact us

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