Today it’s 25 years ago that Papa Wemba performed at the legendary Olympia Bruno Coquatrix in Paris. It is seen as one of his greatest shows of his music-career. L’Olympia, Paris’s most mythical music hall built in 1899, has hosted some of the world’s biggest artists and on that evening Papa Wemba inscribed his name among them.
With his stage presence, Papa Wemba showcased not only his ability to adapt to different musical genres, but also the brilliance of his dancers ‘Ba Fioti-Fioti’, who gave the show an unforgettable visual dimension.
The event was produced by LOM Production under Constant Lomata, who helped fulfill Papa Wemba’s dream to perform on one of the world’s most prestigious stages. With his appearance at L’Olympia, Papa Wemba became the fifth Congolese artist to perform there, following Tabu Ley Rochereau (1970), Abeti Masikini (1971, 1973 & 1986), Koffi Olomidé (1998), and J.B. M’piana (1999)
Background;
"In 1998, Koffi Olomidé performed at L’Olympia and a few months later, at Zénith de Paris. These events paved the way for other Congolese artists to take the stage in Paris’s most mythical concert halls. Until then only Tabu Ley Rocherau (Olympia, 1970) and Abeti Masikini (Zenith de Paris 1988 & Olympia ‘71, ‘73 & ‘86) had been granted the opportunity to perform in such prestigious halls, despite the fact that music from Zaire had been dominating charts and dance floors across Africa for decades.
On June 3rd, 2000, Papa Wemba performed for the second time at the Zénith de Paris, which was a huge success. The outfit he wore that day earned him the nickname “Vieux Python”, a reference to his jacket and bucket hat made of python skin. Towards the end of the show, Papa Wemba not only promoted his website but also announced another concert in Paris at L’Olympia for July 29th. However, the show was soon postponed to September 2nd
By finally getting the chance to perform at l’Olympia, Papa Wemba’s dream came true. In 1970 his idol Tabu Ley Rochereau performed at Olympia giving different youngsters of the era the desire to perform there one day in their life, a dream that at the time seemed almost impossible to achieve.
When Papa Wemba started to do world-music in the late 1980s, people in Zaire excepted him to perform soon at halls like Palais des Sports, Olympia and Zenith, that they were hearing on the radio and television, about big artists from France and the US performing there.Yet, despite the albums; Papa Wemba (1989), Le Voyageur (1991), Molokai (1998) and international success he enjoyed with his 1995 album Emotion, that opportunity never came.
In an interview with RFI in 2000, just before performing at Olympia, Papa Wemba would state that he received the contract for Olympia on the moment that he didn’t except it.
Preparation;
Following his performance at the Zénith de Paris, Papa Wemba wondered how he might present a distinct and innovative show at L’Olympia. He reflected on the approach of J.B. Mpiana, who had successfully differentiated his Olympia performance after previously performing at the Zénith, looking a way to elevate his own show in a comparable manner.
At his Olympia concert, Papa Wemba invited the percussion ensemble Elima of Maître Nono Manzanza (who had already been part of the line-up at the Zénith de Paris in 1999), to support the Fioti Fioti dancers. He also brought in a classical orchestra, featuring trumpeters, saxophonists, violinists, a double bassist and a pianist, to reinterpret some of his most songs, such as Bonjour Daddy, Awa y’Okeyi, etc.. The orchestra was also tasked by paying tribute to his idol Tabu Ley Rochereau by performing Fétiche.
Wanting to revisit the sound of his early Viva La Musica years, Papa Wemba invited guitarist Demukuse of Viva La Musica Cour des Grands. However, as was the case at the Zénith de Paris, the rest of the original Viva band, which included talented artists such as Reddy Amisi and Stino Mubi, remained excluded. The late percussionist Mavungu Malanda also participated to support Nouvelle Écriture, stepping in after that their percussionist Denzu abruptly left the group. Rapper Tony Sad, who featured on the Fula Ngenge-album, was also invited to perform. Extra Musica International of Quentin Moyascko from Congo-Brazzaville was invited to do the first-part of the Olympia-show.
To ensure a completely new experience, Papa Wemba asked choreographer Lambio Lambio to prepare an entirely fresh routine for the Fioti Fioti. Late Lambio Lambio poured his heart into the work, producing one of his finest contributions to Wemba’s shows. After the concert, Papa Wemba expressed both joy and surprise at what they had achieved at Olympia. He promised to reward Lambio Lambio once being back in Kinshasa for his efforts at both Olympia and the Zénith. Lambio Lambio excepted to receive a house or car. However, nothing of that nor a financial compensation were ever materialized. Despite this, Lambio Lambio’s choreographies were so acclaimed that he received the ACMCO trophy for Best Choreographer of the Year.
In one of his interviews, Lambio Lambio recalled that it was this Olympia show that led Papa Wemba to give him the nickname Ndoki ya Ndombé (“black witch” in Kikongo and Lingala). However, the name was already to be heard in concerts of 1998, when getting presented by Wemba. In the same interview, Lambio Lambio stated that the nickname 'Ndoki ya Ndombé' caused tension within his family, who would accuse him for human sacrifices within the family and after repeated complaints towards Papa Wemba, Wemba would eventually change the nickname into Moto na Nzambé (“l’homme de Dieu” / “man of God”).
Prior to the show, a VHS titled 'Sur la Route de l’Olympia' was released. Compared to, for example, Koffi Olomidé’s VHS Sur la Route de Bercy, which focused more on presenting the singers and dancers, Wemba’s video highlighted his staff ‘Jet Set’ and Papa Wemba annoucing that he had formed a governement, with each sapeur/donor having his function as minister.
The video also included footage of the team partying in Paris alongside Bozi Boziana, as well as behind-the-scenes moments at the Zénith, where the Fioti Fioti performed Trop Bon, Trop Cuillon together with New Jack. One memorable moment showed a sapeur appearing on stage wearing the same outfit as Papa Wemba, which seemed to slightly embarrass him. Additionally, the VHS featured recording sessions for the song À la Une, which was scheduled for release in October 2000 (it would get postponed to december 2000).
During an interview with members of his ‘government’, Wemba was asked about Stino and Reddy recording Fin d’Exil. He responded to journalist Paulin Mukendi with a cold reaction, showing the tension between him and his former protegées.
The event;
Nouvelle Écriture showcased their talents during the concert by performing some songs from À la Une, including Lelo Na Décidé, which had not yet been released on CD. They did O'koningana on their own with singer Liberateur doing Papa Wemba's role.
Unlike many bandleaders who start their shows with instruments, Papa Wemba opened the concert with an a cappella performance of Excuse Me, immediately captivating the audience.
In the second part of the concert, Papa Wemba invited the audience to sing a portion of the song Est-ce Que, creating an interactive and engaging moment that highlighted the strong connection between the artist and his fans.
A particularly moment occurred when Wemba’s wife, Amazone and their children joined him on stage during the performance of Phrase. This familial appearance generated considerable public attention following the release of the official VHS and became a topic of discussion within the nganda's of Paris, Brussels, London, Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Giving the impression that as a devoted father with a stable family life, in contrast to Koffi Olomidé, who at the time had a reputation for being less committed to family. Years later, Amazone revealed that she and Papa Wemba were going through a marital crisis at the time. She explained that the song Phrase symbolized a moment of reconciliation between her and Wemba. During the Olympia concert, she became emotional when Wemba started to sing the song and decided to hold him from behind.
Aftermath;
The videotape of the show was released by Dyfser Production, who also organized Nouvelle Écriture’s farewell concert for their European tour at the LSC in October 2000. The cover prominently featured Papa Wemba’s nickname, “Le Vieux Neutre”. This nickname referred to his neutral stance during the conflict between Werrason and J.B. Mpiana, at a time when different bandleaders choose sides. Although Papa Wemba had aligned himself with J.B. Mpiana, he was frustrated with the label he got of a pro-JB. Wanting to act as an elder brother, he decided just before 2000 to adopt the nickname Le Vieux Neutre and later reconcile with Werrason.
The performance also received significant recognition from the Congolese press for its artistic direction. In combination with his earlier show at the Zénith de Paris, Papa Wemba, alongside Koffi Olomidé, who had performed at Bercy earlier that year, was awarded the Special Jury Award by ACMCO for the way they proudly displayed the Congolese flag while performing in Paris’s iconic venues. Meanwhile, the bandleaders of Clan Wenge; J.B. Mpiana, Werrason, and Marie-Paul would fight for the title of Meilleur Vedette de l’Année (Best Star of the Year), which won by JB Mpiana. But due to fights and arguments starting during the voting a two categories were made to both please J.B. Mpiana and Werrason
2 years later a BTS of Papa Wemba's Olympia would appear as bonus in DVD of Papa Wemba's Stade des Martyrs show of 2002 that included some clips of the Bakala dia Kuba-album as well.
