Today, it’s 25 years ago that JB Mpiana performed for the first time in his career at Stade des Martyrs



Background;
After giving a successful show at l’Esplanase de Palais du Peuple. There were talks about organizing an event for JB Mpiana at Stade des Martyrs. It was then decided to do it up on his return from the European tour when the tour was about to end, Roger Ngandu came on different tv-channel to announce JB Mpiana’s return with Wenge BCBG and his show at Stade des Martyrs with the date being set for November 20th. Fanclubs started to mobilize people around Kinshasa to give JB Mpiana a triumphal reception and get ready for the Stade des Martyrs-show. Being meant to arrive on November 18th, Wenge BCBG finally arrived the following day , fans already waited early from the morning on the surroundings of the N’djili airport. JB Mpiana was surprised to see that much of fans on the streets, because the past months he felt like he was the most hated musician of Congo. For the wat journalists were writing negative articles against him, people pointing him the finger for being responsible about Wenge Maison Mere not receiving visa’s, the way rivals were mocking him for not selling Zénith out, etc. According people that were in JB’s circle, it was said that president LD Kabila was abut afraid about the crowd that was present that day, thinking that they were probably attacked by rebels or an uprising starting against him, only to get informed by the secret service that people were waiting for JB Mpiana. After arriving at the airport, JB Mpiana was taking on a vehicule and a motorboat being put above (written Titanic on it), making look like he was going with a real boat, them going from N’djili Airport to the Intercontinental hotel and meantime fans of different areas getting crazy. When arriving JB Mpiana and different BCBG-members gave shorts interviews about their impression of their triumphal return, the tour (shows at Olympia & Zénith) and the upcoming Stade des Martyrs. JB Mpiana then stated that the show would be a mix of Zénith and Olympia



The event;
The show was attended by 50.000 spectators which was a big achievement at that time. The event started with a first part done by the PPU’s with the newly recruited singers (Gessan Sakoko, Dolin Masengi, etc.). What surprised some fans was the absence of Aimelia, who was back then a key-member of Wenge BCBG and also had an important role during the shows at Zénith & Olympia. When JB Mpiana started performing, it started raining after a moment. JB still continue: and even became wet his “Carlo Pinatelli” outfit. But it started raining very hard and some point and JB Mpiana not having a choise then interrupting the show.

Immediately after the show fans speculated that his rival Werrason “spiritually bought rain” as revenge for the way his show at Stade des Martyrs the previous month, got interrupted by a power-cut. Some newspapers took those rumors/allegiations seriously and written articles about it. At the same time the WMM-camp came on tv with some attack against BCBG about their show. But it was Quartier Latin who really went hard on JB Mpiana. One of the musicians, JF Ifonge even wore the same outfit that JB Mpiana wore at Stade des Martyrs. In the same period, Koffi was shooting clips for Attentat in Kinshasa and his atalaku CNN wore also that outfit (the clips came out in January 2000) in the generique. Both incidents created a lot of polemique and BCBG-fans hating Koffi even more. But years later, during an interview with Ado Yuhe, CNN denied that it was a way to humiliate JB Mpiana and didn’t knew anything about it.



Aftermath;
Because of the rain interrupting the show, a new event was scheduled at Stade des Martyrs in December 12t, on a sunday, organized by Adam Bombole and his production house Polygram. The event was called “concert de fidélité” (concert of faithfulness). In meantime, Wenge BCBG went after giving a VIP concert at Intercontinental, to Cotounou in Benin the following week. To perform at Stade d’Amitie. JB Mpiana was very loved in the French speaking part of West Africa because of his albums Titanic and Feux de l’Amour. Delegations from neighboring Togo and Ivory Coast came to Benin (including late Hamed Bakayoko) to attend the event. The show made him earn some respect abroad.



In the week of the Stade des Martyrs event, EP “Bonne Année” got released to counter Werrason’s Solola Bien which came on the market the week before it. The song Papito Mbala would receive a huge succes, but it created also a lot of polemique, since that Alain Mpela’s vocal was seen as an attack towards Blaise Bula and Alain Makaba, calling them dogs (mbwa). But he and JB Mpiana later denied it in interviews.



During the event at Stade des Martyrs, a much bigger crowd showed up (60.000 spectators). But this time, there were serious problems with the sound. Mics not being audible in the beginning and towards the end of the concert, Burkina Faso’s guitar not being audible when playing lead, etc. Fans then accused that the people working with the wound were part of the “niamas” (one of the names BCBG-fans were calling Maison Mere-fans next to nkadia). JB Mpiana would come during the show with the same outfit he wore the his previous show at the stadium








After the show, JB Mpiana was impressed about the determination of his fans, but also explained in an interview that the materials used during the event were not in a good state. At the same time fans that happy about the show, that claiming that JB Mpiana killed the leopard (Werrason) with his event. To talk about the Stade des Martyrs-event, spokemen Mosaka would come on tv with the expression “oyo eza motambo ekangi nzoko, esengi moto na moto akata eteni naye” (this is the fall that trapped the elephant, which means that each person has to cut his own part), to refer how people share meat in the village after that hunters finish hunting. JB Mpiana would use that expression in the TH-Générique. The footage of the second Stade des Martyrs show would get released as “Liwa ya Nkoy” (The death of the Leopard) produced by Jhymmy Mukengele and would become one of the most sold cassettes in the first part of 2000.






However, on the Wenge Maison Mere side, they were not impressed. Them coming with attacks (also Adolphe) in different interviewes. Them saying that the stadium wasn’t 100% filled and that when a stadium is sold out, the camera man his turn around and fill all sides. But during BCBG-event they only filmed one side of the stadium. To prove Wenge BCBG a point, they announced an event at Stade des Martyrs for February 26tg, calling it “Concert de Retification”.

(Coming Soon)

Today, it’s 25 years ago that JB Mpiana performed for the first time in his career at Stade des Martyrs



Background;
After giving a successful show at l’Esplanase de Palais du Peuple. There were talks about organizing an event for JB Mpiana at Stade des Martyrs. It was then decided to do it up on his return from the European tour when the tour was about to end, Roger Ngandu came on different tv-channel to announce JB Mpiana’s return with Wenge BCBG and his show at Stade des Martyrs with the date being set for November 20th. Fanclubs started to mobilize people around Kinshasa to give JB Mpiana a triumphal reception and get ready for the Stade des Martyrs-show. Being meant to arrive on November 18th, Wenge BCBG finally arrived the following day , fans already waited early from the morning on the surroundings of the N’djili airport. JB Mpiana was surprised to see that much of fans on the streets, because the past months he felt like he was the most hated musician of Congo. For the wat journalists were writing negative articles against him, people pointing him the finger for being responsible about Wenge Maison Mere not receiving visa’s, the way rivals were mocking him for not selling Zénith out, etc. According people that were in JB’s circle, it was said that president LD Kabila was abut afraid about the crowd that was present that day, thinking that they were probably attacked by rebels or an uprising starting against him, only to get informed by the secret service that people were waiting for JB Mpiana. After arriving at the airport, JB Mpiana was taking on a vehicule and a motorboat being put above (written Titanic on it), making look like he was going with a real boat, them going from N’djili Airport to the Intercontinental hotel and meantime fans of different areas getting crazy. When arriving JB Mpiana and different BCBG-members gave shorts interviews about their impression of their triumphal return, the tour (shows at Olympia & Zénith) and the upcoming Stade des Martyrs. JB Mpiana then stated that the show would be a mix of Zénith and Olympia



The event;
The show was attended by 50.000 spectators which was a big achievement at that time. The event started with a first part done by the PPU’s with the newly recruited singers (Gessan Sakoko, Dolin Masengi, etc.). What surprised some fans was the absence of Aimelia, who was back then a key-member of Wenge BCBG and also had an important role during the shows at Zénith & Olympia. When JB Mpiana started performing, it started raining after a moment. JB still continue: and even became wet his “Carlo Pinatelli” outfit. But it started raining very hard and some point and JB Mpiana not having a choise then interrupting the show.

Immediately after the show fans speculated that his rival Werrason “spiritually bought rain” as revenge for the way his show at Stade des Martyrs the previous month, got interrupted by a power-cut. Some newspapers took those rumors/allegiations seriously and written articles about it. At the same time the WMM-camp came on tv with some attack against BCBG about their show. But it was Quartier Latin who really went hard on JB Mpiana. One of the musicians, JF Ifonge even wore the same outfit that JB Mpiana wore at Stade des Martyrs. In the same period, Koffi was shooting clips for Attentat in Kinshasa and his atalaku CNN wore also that outfit (the clips came out in January 2000) in the generique. Both incidents created a lot of polemique and BCBG-fans hating Koffi even more. But years later, during an interview with Ado Yuhe, CNN denied that it was a way to humiliate JB Mpiana and didn’t knew anything about it.



Aftermath;
Because of the rain interrupting the show, a new event was scheduled at Stade des Martyrs in December 12t, on a sunday, organized by Adam Bombole and his production house Polygram. The event was called “concert de fidélité” (concert of faithfulness). In meantime, Wenge BCBG went after giving a VIP concert at Intercontinental, to Cotounou in Benin the following week. To perform at Stade d’Amitie. JB Mpiana was very loved in the French speaking part of West Africa because of his albums Titanic and Feux de l’Amour. Delegations from neighboring Togo and Ivory Coast came to Benin (including late Hamed Bakayoko) to attend the event. The show made him earn some respect abroad.



In the week of the Stade des Martyrs event, EP “Bonne Année” got released to counter Werrason’s Solola Bien which came on the market the week before it. The song Papito Mbala would receive a huge succes, but it created also a lot of polemique, since that Alain Mpela’s vocal was seen as an attack towards Blaise Bula and Alain Makaba, calling them dogs (mbwa). But he and JB Mpiana later denied it in interviews.



During the event at Stade des Martyrs, a much bigger crowd showed up (60.000 spectators). But this time, there were serious problems with the sound. Mics not being audible in the beginning and towards the end of the concert, Burkina Faso’s guitar not being audible when playing lead, etc. Fans then accused that the people working with the wound were part of the “niamas” (one of the names BCBG-fans were calling Maison Mere-fans next to nkadia). JB Mpiana would come during the show with the same outfit he wore the his previous show at the stadium








After the show, JB Mpiana was impressed about the determination of his fans, but also explained in an interview that the materials used during the event were not in a good state. At the same time fans that happy about the show, that claiming that JB Mpiana killed the leopard (Werrason) with his event. To talk about the Stade des Martyrs-event, spokemen Mosaka would come on tv with the expression “oyo eza motambo ekangi nzoko, esengi moto na moto akata eteni naye” (this is the fall that trapped the elephant, which means that each person has to cut his own part), to refer how people share meat in the village after that hunters finish hunting. JB Mpiana would use that expression in the TH-Générique. The footage of the second Stade des Martyrs show would get released as “Liwa ya Nkoy” (The death of the Leopard) produced by Jhymmy Mukengele and would become one of the most sold cassettes in the first part of 2000.






However, on the Wenge Maison Mere side, they were not impressed. Them coming with attacks (also Adolphe) in different interviewes. Them saying that the stadium wasn’t 100% filled and that when a stadium is sold out, the camera man his turn around and fill all sides. But during BCBG-event they only filmed one side of the stadium. To prove Wenge BCBG a point, they announced an event at Stade des Martyrs for February 26tg, calling it “Concert de Retification”.

(Coming Soon)