Patou Bofosa here shortly talked about his time in Wenge El Paris. He said that the album Armageddon (Le Monde Envers) was a success but failed in department of animation.  This made Wenge El Paris doing tests to recruit new atalaku's. He was spotted by Savanet Depitcho who was like him from the K.-V. (Kasa-Vubu) area and brought him to Wenge El Paris. The day he came for a test, , saw Theo Mbala of Defao's Big Stars and Beevans Rappa of Quartier Latin among the many people who came for a test. When he came bodyguard Maitre Manix first refused him to enter, but he managed to enter. He was accepted by Marie Paul who nicknamed him Armageddon and gave him a t-shirt. After doing the test on thursday, his first concert was immediately on saturday, which was the famous event at l'Esplanade de Palais du Peuple. He animated the concert alongside the atalaku's Papa Douk (Doukoure), Phily Madova (nowadays choregrapher of Fally) and Atshuda Bis.

Patou Bofosa also said he was the first musician of the Couvre Feu-generation that joined El Paris and him seeing how Pitshou Santiago, Kene-Kene, Charly Chaplin, Arc en Ciel and Bizima Kodos joined. Popol Mupasula also asked him about the chemistry in Couvre Feu he had with Bizima Kodos and Patou Bofosa explaining that Marie Paul gave them the space to work together although Papa Douk and Atshuda Bis being there. He also added that they didn't play in the same street-groups, but that he (Patou) went to rehearshals of streetbands La Geneva and IBG where Bizima joined to animate and knowing him there and sometimes also using his work to do it in Wenge El Paris.

After Patou revealed to have been part of Quartier Latin before joining Wenge El Paris. He explained that he joined as singer and that Koffi gave him the cd Wake Up to work on his voice, just before going to the Ultimatim-trip. But he didn't had the patience to wait, which made him leave and not long after it joining Wenge El Paris.

Like almost all El Paris'members of Couvre Feu he talked about Werrason. Saying how to they went to Wenge Maison Mère's first concert at Bar-vis-a-vis after finishing performing at Stade 20 Mai (Stade Tata Raphael) and how Marie Paul mentioned  the name Maison Mere when talking about Didier Masela. Also how things started to turn bad during the Megaconcert-event (Tokufa Pona Congo) at Stade des Martyrs, when Marie Paul felt the moment he was doing his entrance with Werrason. Manda Chante then going to Karibu Variete saying that he left and gave Marie Paul a ultimatum 48 hours to call him. Marie Paul calling him saying that he gave Manda Chante 14000 hours to call him.

Popol Mopasula at some asked him among the big events in El Paris, which marked him the most. Patou Bofosa replying him with the event of YMCA, which was the fara-fara against Werrason who was performing at day at Stade des Martyrs. He said that the day before they did the event at YMCA, people of the Bima-chruch came to Marie Paul house to pray with El Paris musicians and them saying that they saw that Werrason would fall with his motorcycle in front of YMCA. Patou Bofosa also said that he worked on his own for that concert, but that Bizima Kodos rejoined just before the event after missing out on the Bercy-trip with Quartier Latin. About the event he said that he came with the KO Debout cri during the concert. After the event, he went clubbing with Celezino but when wanting returning home they were arrested by soldiers who were Maison Mère fans,  had to lie on mud (that night it was raining) and got beaten. The soldiers asking Patou why he animated against Werrason and him replying that it is how music works. Celezino was singing his heart out (according Patou even more than Papa Wemba).

After that he shortly talked about his time in Viva Tendance and bit about the coming event of El Paris at Nouveau Casino in December

About the interview itself. Between Kene-Kene and Pitshou Santiago, one of the guys claimed that they were the first musician of the Couvre Feu generation.

When coming to the YMCA-event, Bizima and I believe Dello Bass didn't mention people of the church but wrestler Edingwe and Hassan Tseke in the different interviews to have seen Werrason falling down with his motorcycle in the future.

Also about Manda Chante leaving. Dello Bass, Kene Kene and others didn't say that it was the following day after Megaconcert, but after the famous trip to Tembo, where Manda Chante refused to go and decided to do a public concert  sponsored by PMU in Kinshasa on his own with El Paris' B team. When coming back from Tembo, PMU contacted Marie Paul saying that they didn't respect their contract by performing without him and all known members. PMU decided to cut the contract with Wenge El Paris while they just signed.  This made Marie Paul furious and sending bodyguard Maitre Manix to let enter Manda Chante the following rehearshal and Maitre Manix apparently having beaten Manda Chante when he tried still to enter the rehearshal. According to different members this was the reason why Manda Chante came with the declaration of his departure from El Paris on Karibu Variete. During that day Adolphe Dominguez also came on tv to talk about the release of Force d'Intervention Rapide. The departure of Manda Chante made concertpromoters cancel the tour that Wenge El Paris was supposed to do from December 1998. People also claiming that it was the end of Wenge El Paris. The missed to made El Paris tour around African countries (Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya) staying 7 months abroad to came back in the summer of 1999.

I believe that Patou confused Megaconcert with Gigaconcert, because Gigaconcert was in the week that Maison Mere released Intervention Rapide and different artists performing at Stade des Martyrs with Werrason suddenly going away with 120.000 people after performing and brining a small part to Zamba Playa, leaving the stadium empty.


I am sure that Wenge El Paris would have been on another dimension if Manda Chante hadn't left and they managed to tour in Europe and return. Because when they came in 2000, they hadn't an album on the market and the music-scene in Europe was dominated by Wenge BCBG vs Wenge Maison Mere, many weren't also aware about the succes they had in Kinshasa (except those who were going to Kinshasa often). While in 1998 they were n1 in Kinshasa with Couvre Feu and the war of BCBG vs Maison Mere wasn't intense yet in Europe. They could have re-semented a fanbase in Europe.