This was in october 2003, during halloween. A lawyer called Samba organised an event of two dates at Starford Rex. A few days before the trip Baby Ndombe got suddenly suspended, when they were about to go to UK. He got also stripped off, from his function as "chief of discipline" which was giving to Aimelia. The week Maison Mere was spending their time in U.K., Baby Ndombe made some tv-appareance, saying that he didn't deserve to get suspended and that Aimelia couldn't be the "chief of discipline", because he hadn't the same intellectual capacities like him. After spending a week, Maison Mere came back and Baby Ndombe saw his 2 weeks suspension going to an indefinite suspension. Maison Mere went to diamondvillage Canfunfu in Angola, where they celebrated Angola's independece anniversary. When coming back Baby Ndombe tried to reconcilate with Werrason, by coming his with his dad Ndombe Opetum, but Werrason kept running away. Baby Ndombe even came with Lutumba Simaro to Werra's house, but he ordered his doorman to not open the door. He once talked to his yanzi-brother King Kester Emeneya to get Werrason at King Ranch, Werrason also came, but when he saw Baby Ndombe's car he made an U-turn. Baby Ndombe started to get financial difficulties and got chased away from the hotel he was living and forced to live with his family again. In meantime Werrason hold several concerts in Kinshasa with Maison Mere, at Hall de la Gombe, Boulevard Triomphale, Village Bercy, etc. They also signed a deal with the UK-embassady, getting a 3 years-workpermit visa and making a lot noise about it on tv. In meantime rumors were spread by admin-members like Elliot Mondombe & Monib Production, who gossiped that Baby Ndombe was suspended because of sleeping with Werrason's wife (which wasn't true), that Koffi gave him a paper to get sweat from Werra's face and give it to him,etc. Just to get him hated by WMM-fanatics. In feb. 2004, Maison Mere went back to the UK for a serie of concerts in various cities. Journalists were asking why Werrason don't want to forgive Baby Ndombe, Werrason then giving the reaction "If wil say what he did, you will all hate him", which made people think that the rumors about Baby sleeping with his wife were true, while it was about Baby Ndombe having dated Mbilia Bel, who used to be with Tabu Ley. Werrason himself didn't want Baby Ndombe back, because he saw him as a traitor and the head of Les Marquis-project (still not having forgotten what happended at the Kora Awards 2000, before Adolphe's departure), and admins like Monib scaring him with the story about giving sending him to get his sweat and Baby having visited a witchdoctor who gave him the condition to sleep with his wife for spiritual reasons to get Werra's fame, while it were all false stories. The time that Maison Mere was spending time in UK, tensions who already existed since Kinshasa when Baby Ndombe was around became bigger. Ferre crying after getting beated by Werrason, Bill and Ferre not talking to Werrason, Bill throwing shots at Werrason in concerts (became mad about the money of Tindika Lokito, while he had to get some percentage from it as promised), etc. Then in May 2004, when they had to return to celebrate the 7th anniversary of LD Kabila's coup and prepare the missed event of Stade Charletty for July 2004, Ferre Gola, JDT and Bill Clinton didn't show at the airport. The three guys hadn't officially left. JDT was seriously sick and following medical treatment in London, since that he was in Kinshasa victim of a serious car-accident. Ferre Gola doubting about starting his solo career and going back to Paris to think about his future, taking care of his wife and children, he had already songs to record a solo albums (songs like Diata Locataire credited to Japonais and Detresse credited to Mimiche, were normally his songs bought from songwriters, hence why he was singing it when he started his own band). Bill was still in London. Werrason, who knew about Les Marquis since Kinshasa, using spies in Kinshasa, who saw them spending time with songwriters, donors, underground musicians, etc. talking about the project, wrote a open letter giving them a 48 hours ultimatum to come back to Kinshasa and saying that those who leave their leader, don't go far in their career. Sankara de Nkuta then immediatly making an interview with (I think Yves Kambala) in Paris and insulting JDT, Ferre Gola & Bill Clinton, going even far to insult Ferre Gola's mother. Sankara's interview made the three guys angry and from then they really decided to form Les Marquis and meeting each in Paris. Contacting Baby Ndombe in Kinshasa, who part of the original project and giving an interview with Yves Kambala to confirm Les Marquis-project. Baby was to join Les Marquis in Paris, having already his visa and contacted Bralima (Primus) for contracts. But after seeing their interview with Yves Kambala, he decided to no take part of the project, because they weren't calling him the iniator of the project and he was saw that they won't far for the way they were all three bragging about themselves.
and today sankara denies having insulted ma marie since he knows footage is hard to be found so he proudly asks for video when they ask him about it
bro congo,you wont believe musicians who play on stage together and insult each other and show their reactions of ego without people even knowing,having been lucky to be sometimes on side stage,it happened that i saw musicians dissing their leader for example about payment issues,or leaders insulting mothers of artists over doing shoutout when he sings,messing up a vocal and so onthe fun they have on stage and give us can be deceiving
Thank you for that. That's was a great read! That period right before they left was always a blur to me. I didn't know they left in mid 2004! That means it only took them a few months to record the Miracles album! But what happened with werrason Miracle album that was supposed to come out in late 2003? I always thought it got cancelled because of les marquis. I also dont get why alerted general was a single instead of a full album because I assumed that was what the original Miracles was going to be.
I don't think that it would have sounded like Alerte Generale, some guitar partitions from Flamme Kapaya were created after Les Marquis. Don't forget that when new cries come in, guitarists will look for other sebenes to let it fit the cri. reserve-guitarist Mayindombe gave Flamme that guitar-signature, when Celeo comes with "yo tein petit". Except the sukali-sukali part, "kimbongile" and "olie biloko ya mbwa", the rest were all new cries who came after Bill's departure. Roi David's koko cri, is a recycled version of Bill Clinton's cri (If I remember well, Bill animated it in the song Miami), but Ali Mbonda added for Roi David "bana batika kepa" and "keba oko tekisa ba mapangu" to attack Les Marquis. We will never know how that album would have sounded. Also a few songs in Werra's album came later in, when Ferre and co already left. For example the song Temoingage itself, because that was written to react against JB's Ezau and that song came months later out after the creation of Les Marquis. Yes, Werrason saw that they weren't really ready despite experienced singers Aimelia, Lacoste, Heritier, J3 and Kabose being there, also for the fact for not getting visa's for France. To test the team, Celeo as main atalaku (after being years in Bill's shadow) and the new Roi David & Kene Kene, he decided to record Alerte Generale, giving the singers alot vocals. Btw the way when they came to record Temoignage, singers like Bonbon Kojack & Cappucino weren't able to do vocals in the studio and Sec Bidens being mad, calling them 'faux chanteurs', saying that they had to learn singing again and rehearse very hard. After spending 5 months in Europe, they went back again to Kinshasa for Bralima concerts (Kikwit, FIKIN, etc.) and when they came back to finish the album, evertyhing was ok. Werrason could have recruited better singers, but there was alot corruption, himself also not looking to the singing abilities, but just the looks. You had a guy (I forgot his name), who ended up in Bill's samourai, who came to replace Baby Ndombe, but he wasn't accepted. You also a guy singer from Tshangu (nicknamed Moyibi), but Werrason prefering Cappucino. Also a tenorist was by far better than Bonbon Kojack.
53:30 min Tantine was to wild 1:09:18 looks like I saw this woman in some videoclips, but I don't remember where and also another concert in London. Looks Werra's reaction at 1:09:42 min