The city streets are filled with the fragrance of fresh roses because all spaces adjacent to the busy streets have been converted into makeshift flower shops.

Hotels are advertising special offers for couples, and gift shops are abuzz with activities, all because love is in the air, and soon it will be Valentine's.

February 14 is marked globally as a day of lovers. Although this tradition, with roots in the ancient Roman Empire, hadn't gained much traction in Africa until recently, it is now observed even in remote villages, where it is not strange to find the local grocer selling plastic roses.

On Valentine's Day of 1949, a major development happened in the port city of Matadi, when one of the rumba Congolese finest singers tested his vocals for the very first time as he cried for the first time in an after-birth tradition that happens with every child.

Perhaps the child would've been named Valentine, but his parents chose to stick to their naming traditions for the reason that the village hadn't fully comprehended and appreciated the concept of Lover’s Day. He was named Joseph Kiambukuta.

The boy would go on to achieve stardom, becoming part of the singing line-up of one of Congo’s finest voices, with an extraordinary vocal range spanning the music scale. From his teenage until his demise, Josky graced the vocal section of some of the most popular bands in the country of musical gods, DRC. The bands were African Fiesta Sukisa led by Dr. Nico, Orchestra Continental, and OK Jazz led by Franco.

He began his career with  Africa Fiesta Sukisa of Dr Nco Kasanda Wa Mikalayi. The band faced turbulent times because of Dr Nico's poor leadership acumen and love for the bottle. The band had had a very successful three-year start, but its membership became fluid with a chain of defections that saw it change musicians very frequently.

In 1969, the band brought in two singers, Josky and Chantal Kazadi. As much as Chantal didn't live long enough to further his musical career as he was executed in 1970 on suspicion of participating in a robbery, Josky began his musical journey to the top.

He announced his presence in the band by participating in several hit songs including 'Anne Marie' and 'bolingo ya sens unique', Cheri Julie' etc, which were his compositions. In 1971, Josky joined hands with Bopol Mansiamina, Wuta Mayi, ace soloist Serpent, and others to create that phenomenal ensemble known as Orchestra Continental

Here, Josky excelled with the recording of wonderful hits like 'Mama na Nicole', 'Vero' and others. This band had some political connections with the kind of manipulation, It was going far. However, young Josky jumped ship when the outfit was still afloat.

His next musical home was OK Jazz, Led by Franco, where he remained for a whopping 21 years until when the band was disbanded in 1993, after the demise of Franco. OKJ was the natural home for Josky.

A sample of his works with the previous bands in comparison to those he did with OK Jazz is a clear illustration that he was more of an OK Jazz musician than the previous bands, continental and African Fiesta Sukisa, it is worth noting that both bands did African Jazz school of rumba which preferred a 'lolaka' style of singing associated with Grand Kalle, which featured a solo vocalist without any backup singers.

Josky having the advantage of a wide vocal range was more useful at OK Jazz which did the OK Jazz school of rumba that featured a lead singer and serial backup singers, thus providing some legroom for Josky's vocal flexibility.

An apt example is ‘sandoka’ of OKJ, a composition of Franco. The singers for that assignment were in two sets of Josky paired with the late Ntesa in a duet with Wuta Mayi yoked with Ndombe Opetum.

Naturally, a high tenor, Ntesa, had to retain his vocals, but Josky is the wizard of the game. He could sing like anyone, hit high notes, get as high as Mpoyi, or as low as Opetum. So, in this case, to create harmony, and so he sings low. Wuta and Opetum blend so naturally. A singer like Opetum struggled to match Tabuley's high tenor while at African Fiesta National, the first example in ‘Hortense’ but at OKJ he let out his natural voice, that deep voice because in this band, harmony was key and the outfit already had several high tenors, Mangwana, Boyibanda, etc.

Josky could fit in as a lead vocalist or backup vocalist as he could sing as high as Djo Mpoyi or as low as Ndombe Opetum. At OKJ, Josky's voice identifies with the band. Apart from Franco, the other musician to have participated in more recordings than any other musician is Lola, who stayed with the band for 25 years, from the day he joined in September 1967 to his death in 1992 (OKJ disbanded in 1993)

Josky was the band's most recognized and most popular singer of the 1980s, the 1970s being Youlou's and the 1960s being Josky's. His successes at OKJ began with songs like 'Selija' of the mid-1970s, 'Proprtaire' of the early 1980s, the 'KSK' of the mid-1980s to the 'Chandra' of the Water days. His footprints are everywhere in the history of OK Jazz and, by large, that of Congolese music.

However, to fully appreciate Josky's contribution, one must look beyond OK Jazz, because he also participated in several projects outside OKJ, like the MAMAKI, a short-lived nzing nzong created from the acronyms of Mabiala ie Youlou, Mayaula and Kiambukuta.

The other mutineers for the project were Ya Makosso, the rhythmst, Mpudi the bassist, and others. There were other such projects as the one that Josky and Ntesa sneaked out of OKJ to participate in, i.e., the Momene Mikengo songs that included the 'lela ngai na mosika' and Likongo Li Mboka.

Josky passed away on the 7th of March, 2021, in Kinshasa. Perhaps to celebrate his birthday posthumously, fans will have to play several of the love songs he did because it will be Valentine's Day as well.

By Jerome Ogola

Jabulani Radio

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