Congo Vibes
Music => Congolese Music => Topic started by: Mfumu Vata on January 12, 2026, 23:46
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y24QyuGeRok
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Mr. La Rumba is doing a great job. In the different interviews Makolin has given, he never spoke this openly. He also wasn’t abruptly interrupted by Mr. La Rumba, what other journalists and which often made artists like Makolin forget to finish their story. In the first part, Makolin talked about his childhood and how he started his music career in Matadi. Thinking about the many talented artists and bands from Matadi, it’s surprising that none of them ever managed to break through on the Congolese music scene and gain national recognition, remaining limited to local success in Kongo Central and many leaving the city to settle in Kinshasa and join the big bands of there (TP OK jazz, Afrisa International, Zaiko Langa Langa, Choc Stars, Langa Langa Stars, Victoria Eleison, etc.). This also made me reflect on how limited our music industry is, despite the many talented bands from cities such as Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, Goma, Bukavu and etc. To succeed, you need to be based in Kinshasa, whereas in the United States the music industry is much more decentralized, you can be based in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, etc.. If our music industry worked that way, no African country could dominate us, because of the diversity. Hearing Makolin explain how their band Comick-Comet came to Kinshasa to record tracks with Verckys, only for them never to be released, made me wonder whether there was an unspoken code within Kinshasa-based record labels to not give bands coming from other cities space to succeed.
After finishing talking about his time in Matadi, Makolin gave the real reason why he left the city to settle in Kinshasa, also how he started to do nzong-nzings with Sec Bidens, Dindo Yogo and how he wanted to join immediately big bands instead of joining bands that hadn't succeed yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQ-5Wh8RlY
Today, Mr. la Rumba uploaded part 2, where Makolin is talking about his time in Stukas of Lita Bembo & Victoria Eleison of King Kester Emeneya