Papa Wemba

Papa Wemba, born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba, shaped the course of Central African music through his commanding voice and outsized charisma. Long hailed as “the King of Rhumba,” he blended indigenous Congolese rhythms with Western pop and rock currents. He helped launch Zaiko Langa Langa in 1970, then stepped forward as frontman of Isife Lokole in 1974 and Viva la Musica from 1976 onward.

Raised in the Kinshasa region of what was then the Belgian Congo and is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wemba grew up aware of his lineage among BaTetela warrior chieftains. His mother, a professional mourner who performed at funeral wakes, left a lasting mark on his vocal style. In a late-’90s interview he recalled, “If mother was still alive, I would be rich in words and rich in melodies. She was my first teacher and my first audience.” Only after his father, a chief of customs, died in 1966 did Wemba join a Roman Catholic church choir, where he honed his command of minor keys. He took part in forming Zaiko Langa Langa in 1969 and stayed four years, guiding the ensemble away from American R&B toward traditional Central African dance music. Several songs he wrote during that period became hits, among them “Pauline,” “C’est la Vérité,” “Chouchouna,” and “Liwa Ya Somo.”

Wemba departed Zaiko Langa Langa in 1974 to lead his own first ensembles, Isife Lokole and Yoka Lokole, both anchored by the lokole, a hollow tree trunk struck with two sticks. In 1977 he settled in the Molokai section of Kinshasa’s Matonge district and assembled Viva la Musica, whose sound aligned with President Mobutu’s authenticity campaign. Wemba appeared regularly on state television to discuss the value of traditional music and the campaign itself. From the outset, the band’s fame rested equally on its devotion to designer fashion and its recordings; admirers who copied the group’s dress code became known as “La Sape,” drawn from the phrase “La Société des Ambienceus et Ces Personnes d’Élégance.” Viva la Musica quickly won over Congolese youth. In its first year the Kinshasa paper Elima declared the band best orchestra, Wemba best singer, and its single “Mère Supérieure” best song. Over the next three years the group scored further hits with “Moku Nyon Nyon,” “Nyekesse Migue’l,” and “Cou Cou Dindon.”

Intent on reaching European listeners, Wemba and Viva la Musica vocalist Rigo Star took a six-month leave in 1979 to join Tabu Ley Rochereau’s Afrisa International. In the early ’80s Wemba moved to Paris and created a second edition of Viva la Musica that pursued a more Westernized sound, while the original lineup kept its indigenous focus. He explained, “My original group is there for me Zairian fans who come to hear typical African sounds but when I decided to be a singer with an international name, I formed another group to appeal to a different public.” Wemba took part in the late-’80s revue Africa Oye! and opened Peter Gabriel’s Secret World tour in 1993. Three years later he received the best artist Kora Award at the first All Africa Music Awards. He kept merging homeland traditions with Western pop on the 1995 album Emotion, produced by Stephen Hague of Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, and New Order renown. Although a short imprisonment in the early 2000s, stemming from suspected involvement in a smuggling ring that brought immigrants into Europe, altered his perspective and the tone of later work such as the 2003 release Somo Trop, he continued recording and performing. Wemba died in 2016 at age 66 after collapsing onstage in Ivory Coast.