Congo Vibes
Music => Congolese Music => Topic started by: J Silu on July 19, 2020, 22:21
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I find it fascinating how although wenge dominated Congo and Werra and JB are more popular than Koffi in the motherland..
No one has even had a stronger solo catalogue than Koffi's. From his generation.
Like I was looking at Werra's solo albums and was surprised to see how weak it looked. JB only has 2.
Werra's first 2 albums are good But his next ones are debatable. JB had 2 strong albums and that's it.
Wazekwa's solo catalogue looks even stronger than Werra (correct me if you feel I'm wrong)
Koffi had effrakata, monde Arabe, bord ezanga kombo, abracadabra, 13eme apotre, nyataquance. I mean looking at that list from 2000s to 2010s it looks strong.
Papa Wemba I can't remember all his albums (in order) from 2000s/2010s but he also had a good list of albums.
What do you think?
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Felix Wazekwa has a big catalogue, but ask random people to sing atleast 3 songs of Wazekwa, they won't know. Most people only knows his generiques.
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Felix Wazekwa has a big catalogue, but ask random people to sing atleast 3 songs of Wazekwa, they won't know. Most people only knows his generiques.
That's true. And he has good messages in his songs and proverbs.
But he's overlooked by most people. Maybe it's because they thought he was like a Koffi copy cat or that he's not that great at singing. I don't know but they just don't appreciate him like that. He fought hard to get up there but it's his generiques people go on about but he has a lot of good rumba songs.
I just don't know what the problem is.
But for someone like Werra it's just unacceptable. I feel like he could've done more with his catalogue. That's why it's shocking when I'm viewing his catalogue and you WOULDNT really even discuss Werra's catalogue after temoinage. Might name one more album after temoinage but ahh it's just fascinating analysing this
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Werrason kept postponing the release of his 3th solo album Arche de Noe, which had normally to come after Temps Present. When they came for Zenith '08, they even started the programmation of some songs, planning an 18 track album. The album had first not a name, then when he abandoned the worldmusic album project which had that name, he gave that album Arche de Noe as title. Werrason changed his mind after Temps Present and wanted to release Malewa, then he changed his mind once and came with Flesh Ingeta, until that the project got totally forgotten.
JB Mpiana could released Chemin de Fer along time ago, which when they were preparing for Bercy planned for 2002. Archos even started a thread about it, about the original tracklist of 14 songs which they recorded in 2002. Like Werrason, he kept postponing it, mostly due to those visa-problems. With a few songs ending up in groups albums like Anti Terro, Soyons Serieux and Quel est ton Probleme, but the text being modified. JB Mpiana was the closest to release the album in 2005 and 2011. In 2005 they had recorded a big part in Kinshasa and almost finished, but guys like Pathy Moleso said that it was better to record the album in Europe, so they started with Kipe Ya Yo and waiting to get the visa-problems solved. In 2011, he wanted to release it after Soyons Serieux, but against all exceptions, the album not really well received. So it made JB doubting, which made him come with the Ball de Match-project of 3 songs in 2012 (many people don't know that he was about to name the Kipe Ya Yo-project like that before changing the title in Ball de Match), until that it came with the years a double album. JB Mpiana had know more than 60+ unreleased songs. He able to release 3/4 solo-albums. I remember him saying in 2015, that after Ball de Match, he will release 3 albums in the row (but that will never happen lol). Many people mock him that he didn't release Chemin de Fer, because he didn't had the inspiration anymore, but according to the few who had the chance to hear a few songs of the 2005-version, say that it is of high level and better than T.H.
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Felix Wazekwa has a big catalogue, but ask random people to sing atleast 3 songs of Wazekwa, they won't know. Most people only knows his generiques.
That's true. And he has good messages in his songs and proverbs.
But he's overlooked by most people. Maybe it's because they thought he was like a Koffi copy cat or that he's not that great at singing. I don't know but they just don't appreciate him like that. He fought hard to get up there but it's his generiques people go on about but he has a lot of good rumba songs.
I just don't know what the problem is.
But for someone like Werra it's just unacceptable. I feel like he could've done more with his catalogue. That's why it's shocking when I'm viewing his catalogue and you WOULDNT really even discuss Werra's catalogue after temoinage. Might name one more album after temoinage but ahh it's just fascinating analysing this
Apart Kito Epula, Respect and the rumba's of Wazekwa's second album Pauvre Mais (Bokono & Mi-Corazon), I don't like his rumba's, the rhythm doesn't touch me, espcially when it are those programmed rumba's. But I like his sebene-songs, songs like Meme Pas Mal, Grand A, Ah Ngai, Mpangi, Jean Bady, Debo, Vidal, Complexe, Bonjour Monsieur, Sponsor and Obengisi Ngai.
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Felix Wazekwa has a big catalogue, but ask random people to sing atleast 3 songs of Wazekwa, they won't know. Most people only knows his generiques.
True, the only rhumbas that immediately come to mind is Kito Epula and Tu Me Manque. I feel like his songs would have more impact if he gave his singers more space to sing, because they mostly handled choruses until Et Apres.
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Kofi started as a Solo artist way before Clan Wenge, before the split he had a number of solo albums under his belt, so he will always be ahead of the rest. Wazekwa success are mainly in Congo, very few people know him out of Congo compare to Kofi, JB and Werra