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Tonight we take a trip to Kinshasa as we explore the extra deep music lineage in Africa's largest nation by landmass. The home of "rhumba congolaise" is a true hotbed of music at any time in the modern era, so come enjoy the sounds of the place they once called Zaire with us.
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
Mar 2, 2020
The Drop with Danno
Method Man & Mary J. Blige – I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By
Isis Kingue & Gaz Mawete – Ndolo
Koffi Olomide – Selfie
Fally Ipupa – Canne a sucre
Verckys & l’Orchestre Veve – Bassala Hot
Grand Kalle et l’African Jazz – Kelya
Grand Kalle et l’African Jazz – Jamais Kolonga
Franco et le TP OK Jazz – Liberte
Souzy Kasseya – Le telephone sonne (original version 1983)
Wendo Kolosoy – Kinshasa
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight, flight TD 064 is going through the maintenance motions, and we hope you are ready to take a trip to faraway places tonight. We take off for Kinshasa at 9pm tonight and focus on music from The Democratic Republic of The Congo fka Zaire for this edition of our Round Trip, Congolese rhumbaed into history as March 2, 2022. This is Danno very happy to welcome you to your weekly travel experience coming at you no matter where from in studio 2, GFN HQ in Downtown Gwangju, how do you do? So tonight I’m travelling solo to Kinshasa which is kind of a bummer, but with Lizz Kalo starting a new job & the holiday on Tuesday getting together this week was a bit of a challenge to say the least of it, but our esteemed guest has provided her half of the playlist for our sojourn to The Congo this evening. For right now we mark a bit of history with another birthday, as the man with so many nicknames from The Wu Tang Clan was born Clifford Smith in Long Island, and we’ll tell you all about The Method after he does his thing with Mary J. This is The Drop.
Method Man & Mary J. Blige – You’re All I Need
The Drop has boarded the bus tonight so we are on our way to Incheon for this week’s Round Trip. What’s happening tonight, Drop Gangsters (Korean)? Danno on the mic here in studio 2, GFN HQ, downtown Gwangju and solo for the night although with Lizz Kalo here in spirit for hour 2 with the tunes, facts, and selects. However, we of course have all of you to keep me company, and this week’s trip on flight TD064 is headed for The Congolese capital of Kinshasa, and I know it does get confusing with two countries called The Congo for short located right next to one another, but we’re going to Kinshasa, the home of the great Patrice Lumumba may he rest in power, not Brazzaville.
Focused on the history as we are wont to do in order to begin the program tonight, that was Method Man & Mary J. Blige covering a soul classic in 1994 with I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By, usually referred to shorthand as you’re all I need.
Method Man born on this date in 1971 as Clifford Smith is celebrating his 51st birthday. One of the central members of The Wu-Tang Clan and now a legend, this was a #1 hit on the R&B charts, holding the spot for three weeks in 1995 and peaking at #3. The tune is an interpolation of the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrelle duet from 1968, originally written by Ashford & Simpson, and released by Motown Tamla.
The Meth & Blige version appeared on the Wu-Tang MC’s 1995 debut album Tikal, with both the original version and later remixes being produced by RZA.
Happy birthday to Mr aka aka himself, Method Man, may there be many more.
#9870, @gfnthedrop, podcast details, etc.
Next block, we’ll start our sojourn to Central Africa and the place they once called Zaire with some newer artists that are turning heads and moving feet in Kinshasa. On deck we have Isis Kingue and Gaz Mawete with another coed duet then two more cuts from Koffi Olomide and Fally Ipupa respectively, and we’ll talk about all of these artists and releases after we release the hounds and sounds first. This is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday night to The Congo.
_________
The Drop returns tonight for our final yaddas of part one, and this is Danno of course, just now pulling up to ICN to travel to The Congo tonight, that’s Kinshasa, not Brazzaville, and Lizz Kalo couldn’t join us in studio but did send her half of the sounds for the trip tonight. We just got a taste of some of the more now sounds coming outta The Congo right there, so let’s get to the details…
Isis Kingue & Gaz Mawete – Ndolo (…now, we must point out that The Democratic Republic of Congo is in fact the world’s 11th largest country, Africa’s biggest, and one of the most linguistically diverse in the world. I believe this word means LOVE, although not sure. Isis Kingue is a Cameroonian singer, and here she teams up with Gaz Mawete who is Congolese and someone we’ll hear more from in hour 2 on the trip.)
Koffi Olomide – Selfie (…this is from an album called the 13th apostle, released in 2015. A man whose records have gone gold and platinum many times, he is the founder of the Quartier Latin International orchestra with many notable artists, including Fally Ipupa and Ferré Gola.)
Fally Ipupa – Canne à sucre (…and speak of the devil, that was _____ with a tune that translates to sugar cane. Ipupa is a major up-and-coming force in music out of The Congo, having been able to cross over with fans in Europe and beyond during his career thus far. Definitely keep an eye on him.)
Alright, so we’re just about to pull up to the terminal for check-in, but we got one more long player to rock while we grab our gear and head inside. Up next is Verckys and l’Orchestre Veve from their 1975 self-titled record. Now, Verckys is a legend in Congo as a kind of do-it-all Curtis Mayfield of African music, but he is more notable as being the first indigenous African to own a record label, which is quite notable in the late 1960’s. Our final tune tonight is called Bassala Hot, and we’ll be back for more old school joints in part 2. THIS is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday night to the Mighty Congo.
Verckys & l’Orchestre Veve – Bassala Hot
II.
The Drop is back after the first jump of the evening on our Danno flying solo Round Trip Wednesday, departing at 9pm tonight on flight TD064 for The Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital in Kinshasa, not Brazzaville, and we started very old school right there as we continue to await our turn at the ticketing counter. That was some classic rhumba congolaise with…
Le Grand Kalle et l’African Jazz – Kelya (…)
Le Grand Kalle – Jamais Kolonga (…the band was a popular and extremely influential Congolese rumba (soukous) band from the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1953 in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa) under Belgian colonial rule, the band was led by Joseph Kabasele Tshamala, popularly known by his stage name Le Grand Kallé. The group saw its heyday between 1958 and 1962, after which it was hit by defections by its members in 1963. Not surprising as that was a period of revolution in the country, with independence and the murder of Patrice Lumumba followed by military dictatorship under Mobutu Sese Seko that lasted until 1997.)
Moving along SM, #9870, podcast let us know …
Next block we’ll continue with the rhumba conogolaise vibes tonight with a pair of long players. Franco et le TP OK Jazz is up first with a tune called Liberte or Freedom, and then we have Souzy Kasseya with the original 1983 version of Le telephone sonne or the phone is ringing, and we’ll ring your bell after they’re done doing the same one last time here in the first half prior to takeoff just after 9. THIS is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday evening to Kinshasa.
_________
The Drop has arrived at the gate here at ICN, getting in plenty of congo rhumba for some old school flavors here in part 2. For those just joining us, we take off for The Congo tonight, as in Kinshasa, not Brazzaville, and we will be traveling solo with Lizz Kalo in studio spiritually with her contributions on the music but not on the mic for this week...
Franco et le TP OK Jazz – Liberte (…now, you know you’re like a huge figure when everyone just calls you by one name, like Pele or Beyonce, and Franco Luambo was the man in old Zaire, leading this group for over 30 years from the 50’s through the 80’s until he passed away in 1989. TPOK Jazz was quite possibly the most influential group from Africa anywhere during its time, always out on the cutting edge of sound in the country and bringing those vibes to the world.)
Souzy Kasseya – Le telephone sonne (…from an amazing 1983 called The Return of The Ace, although the title is in French. This is a record you should definitely check out in full (repeat), just a great guitar player and vocalist.)
Moving towards halftime this evening, we’ll finish with another long player (which you’ll definitely find is a pattern with Congolese music, if you haven’t noticed already). Our final joint of the first half as the final call to board goes in the background is Wendo Kolosoy and a cut called appropriately enough Kinshasa. We’ll hear more from this artist on the trip in part 3, but for now THIS is The Drop boarding flight TD064 for the city whose song we play now, and that’s a wrap on the first half.
Wendo Kolosoy – Kinshasa
III & IV Round Trip
Madilu System - Blessure d’amour
Wendo Kolosoy - Botyiaki Ntembe
Tshala Muana - Tshibola
Ray Lema - Koteja
Lokua Kanza - Mutoto
Tabu Ley Rochereau - Pitie
Fally Ipupa - Eloko Oyo
Gaz Mawete - Olingi Nini
Dadju - Bob Marley
Ya Levis - Katchua
Flash Flood Darlings - Fewchie
Aseul - Always with You
Madilu System - Blessure d’amour (Wound of Love)
• Jean de Dieu Makiese, popularly known as Madilu System, was a Congolese rumba singer and songwriter, born in what was then Léopoldville, Belgian Congo.
• He was once a member of the seminal band TPOK Jazz which dominated the Congolese scene from 1960s through 1980s.h
• He was born in Kinshasa in 1952 and died in 2007 at age 55
• This song is only one of his countless releases and he remains highly celebrated as congolese music royalty.
Wendo Kolosoy - Botyiaki Ntembe
- Antoine Wendo Kolosoy aka Papa Wendo, was a Congolese musician. He is considered the "Father" of Congolese rumba, also known as soukous, a musical style blending son cubano, beguine, waltz, tango and cha-cha.
- A man who is true royalty, having his first hit waaaay back in 1948 and many more after that, he passed in 2008, may he rest in power.
Tshala Muana - Tshibola
• Élisabeth Tshala Muana Muidikay, alias Tshala Muana, is a singer and dancer from Congo-Kinshasa.
• She started her artistic career as a dancer for the musical band Tsheke Tsheke Love in 1977.
• She is famous for several songs such as this song and "Karibu Yangu". She has won several awards on the national, continental and global scene.
Ray Lema – Koteja
- This is an artist with serious musical chops. He learned Mozart and Chopin as a child in Catholic seminary school, but pianos were hard to find in The Congo, so he took up guitar instead.
- He discovered some of the greats of music back in the 1970’s and with his classical background was later appointed Musical Director of the Ballet of Zaire, which changed his perspective forever, and helped him achieve fame with his own music in the 1980’s.
Lokua Kanza - Mutoto (Child)
• Lokua Kanza is a singer-songwriter that is known for his soulful, folksy sound.
• He released this song in 2001 as part of his self titled album
• Aside from being globally recognized and featured, he speaks and sings in multiple languages including swahili, french, lingala and Portuguese.
Tabu Ley Rochereau – Pitie
- One of the artists back in the 70’s that opened the eyes of the previously played Ray Lema, the artist was a leading African rumba singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the leader of Orchestre Afrisa International, as well as one of Africa's most influential vocalists and prolific songwriters.
Fally Ipupa - Eloko OYa ( Here it is)
• Fally Ipupa N'simba, or Fally Ipupa, is a singer-songwriter, dancer, philanthropist, guitarist and producer.
• From 1999 until 2006, he was a member of Quartier Latin International, the music band formed in 1986 by Koffi Olomidé, another Congolese musical giant.
Gaz Mawete - Olingi Nini
- The artist, aka Boika Machine, Samson Petit Coeur, Tuer de Dragon, 207 Esprit, really made a name for himself with this 2018 hit single, which garnered over 5 million hits on the tube with all the videos.
- He’s been releasing music for about 9 years since discovering his courage and voice on a music TV show in 2011 as a very young man of just 20. Previous to this release in November 2017, Gaz mawete won and was crowned best star by Vodacom Best of the Best All Star contest, which won him both a lot of new fans and a record contract.
Dadju - Bob Marley
• Dadju Djuna Nsungula is a French singer.
• He was previously signed to the label Wati B and then signed with Polydor Records of Universal Music Group 2017.
• He was a member of the musical formation Shin Sekaï alongside rapper Abou Tall from 2012 to 2016, before shooting to stardom as a solo act.
Ya Levis – Katchua
- This is a young man who started singing with his father as a boy, later joining the popular group D Stars of Africa prior to persuing a solo career starting in 2012.
- He’s been based in France since his family moved there in 1999, but later did come back to play the Red Ones Festival in his home town and capital of The Congo Kinshasa more recently.
Flash Flood Darlings - Fewchie
• The flash Flood Darlings are signed to Young, gifted and wack records, which is home to some of the most talented and trendy underground electronic artists in the country.
• Their music is filled with catchy and soulful harmonies and melodies.
• They released this song in 2017
Aseul – Always with You
- The lovely and talented Aseul right here from Asobi, released in 2018.
- Big news from Aseul as it appears she’s getting married as she posted some selfies of her in a wedding dress over the weekend, and we wish her and her man all the best moving into the future along with heartfelt congratulations. She’s wonderful.