Today marks 25 years (a quarter of a century) since JB Mpiana’s second solo album T.H. was released in Kinshasa. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the European release of the album, which happened a few days before the June 28 release in Kinshasa. Anyway, when the album got released, it immediately got the number one spot in different Kinshasa music charts. In many music-charts it hold the n1 spot for a full year, until the release of Kibuisa Mpimpa in June 2001. Today, T.H. is widely regarded as a classic and one of the greatest albums in the history of Congolese music.
The album title T.H. came from the abbreviation Toujours Humble, which means Always Humble in French. The slogan Humble/T.H. emerged during their 1998 European tour. In Wenge BCBG's opinion, there was no band or artist since Wendo Kolosoy who had achieved the level of fame they had. Yet, in their eyes, they remained humble. During various TV appearances, several bandmembers such as Aimelia, Alain Mpela, Tutu Calugi and different spokesmen would often mention the slogans Humble or and T.H. Papa Wemba who was like JB Mpiana's mentor in his first years of his solo-career, would quote him in the song Ba Yankee
from 1: 16 min "Toujours Humble Kaka. Eloba Mukulu JB Mpiana"
After the huge success of Feux de l’Amour, J.B. Mpiana was eager to record a second solo album, which he decided to name after the slogan. The songs for the album were prepared at his house in Hesbaye/Ma Campagne, in parallel with rehearsals for the Zenith concert, which were taking place at Base Kamina.
However, his ambition to release a second solo project made BCBG co-founders Blaise Bula and Alain Makaba feel as though J.B. Mpiana was turning Wenge BCBG into his personal band, while they viewed the band as a continuation of Wenge Musica 4x4. At the same time, Blaise Bula had ambitions to record his own solo album, Ponderation 8, but J.B. Mpiana was opposed to the project. Tensions had already started during the 1998 Europe-America tour, where it came on a peak in Canada after J.B. Mpiana appointed Alain Mpela as chef d’orchestre without consulting the other co-founders. The conflict only worsened after their return to Kinshasa, where Bula and Makaba were unhappy about banners and posters, made by concert promoters stating “J.B. Mpiana et son orchestre Wenge BCBG". Blaise Bula later tried to involve other bandleaders, such as General Defao, to explain how J.B. Mpiana was for example, signing contracts on his own. However most of the bandleaders decided to side with J.B. Mpiana.
Alain Makaba returned to Europe. The many disagreements between the two eventually led to Makaba leaving the band after the Zenith concert. During the show, Makaba only performed briefly near the end with his back turned to the audience. Afterwards, several rumors were spread and the public started pointing fingers at Alain Mpela, blaming him for Makaba’s departure."
Blaise Bula saw himself getting suspended after a fight with guitarist Maître Fi-Carré during a trip to Ivory Coast. He saw the suspension as an attack on his authorithy as co-founder and stopped showing up to rehearsals and concerts. When he did appear, he would arrive very late. At the same time he started slowly preparing his solo album Ponderation 8. But then there came a moment that deeply disappointed him. Blaise Bula fell seriously ill and, while hospitalized, no one from the band visited him except Tutu Calugi and Kis Kisolokele. This experience led him to decide to leave Wenge BCBG, without making any official statement to the press. After rehabilitating, Blaise Bula started recording sessions for Ponderation 8 at Studio Ndiaye. In the meantime, several admins and staffmembers of Wenge BCBG tried to convince him to return and take part in the 1999 Zenith concert. His visa was even ready, but instead of agreeing, Blaise Bula ended up insulting J.B. Mpiana to the people J.B. had sent to talk to him. When BCBG eventually traveled to Paris without him, many people both in Paris and back in Kinshasa questioned his absence. Blaise Bula responded to press by saying that he was waiting for them and focusing on his album so as not to remain unemployed.
T.H. (Toujours Humble) was initially announced for December 1999. However, during the tour JB Mpiana decided to release an EP called "Bonne Année; Y'a Pas Photo, Y'a Pas Match" instead, pushing the album's release date to March 2000. The EP featured a remix of the générique "Ndombolo" and a remix of the song "Papito", which introduced the vocal section consisting the at that time PPU's Kibens, Chai, Rio and the veterans Aimelia Lias and Alain Mpela. The WMM camp mocked JB Mpiana for delaying the release of T.H., claiming that he was afraid it would be overshadowed by Solola Bien. However, when asked about it by journalists, JB Mpiana explained that they had noticed people were only just beginning to discover the Titanic album and recognize it as a great album, especially after the release of the Zenith VHS. In his view, the public had initially been distracted by polemics and bias surrounding its release (Titanic came out around the same time as Maison Mère’s Force d’Intervention Rapide), which, why he decided to give Titanic more time to be appreciated before releasing T.H..
The album had already been completed when they returned to Kinshasa in November 1999. However, singer Aimelia Lias did not participate as a form of punishment, as he was held responsible for the car accident in Canada that left dancer Patricia Bingetox (R.I.P.) paralyzed. Aimelia eventually decided to stay in Europe due to his exclusion from the T.H. recording sessions, unsure of how he would explain his absence to fans and the press once T.H. would get released. Aimelia chose to start a solo career in Europe and started working on his album Constat, which he recorded with help from Sec Bidens and Alain Makaba. Back in Kinshasa, the BCBG camp started spreading rumors that Aimelia was about to join Quartier Latin and claimed that he had tried to convince Calugi to stay in Europe.
Around March/April 2000, after a series of concerts in Kinshasa, JB Mpiana returned to Europe along with Alain Mpela, Titina Al Capone, and Tutu Calugi. The purpose of the trip was to add some new songs, introduce new cris (to challenge Maison Mère’s Solola Bien) and complete the mixing of the album. Band members Burkina Faso, Maître Fi-Carre, and Gentamicine were also supposed to join the trip to record two or three additional songs, correct some guitar lines and add new cri's. But they were left behind in Kinshasa, which led to dissatisfaction among them. Wenge Maison Mère tried to take advantage of the situation by trying to destabilize Wenge BCBG, using their donors to lure Maître Fi-Carre and Burkina Faso into their band with various promises. Burkina Faso accepted the offer, having been promised a Mercedes CL 700, though he never received it. It has been said that guitarist Caien Madoka was brought in to record the parts originally intended for Fi-Carre and Burkina Faso, but was not credited for his work, something he reportedly remains unhappy about to this day. Burkina Faso's departure to Maison Mère, made him being credited as Kasongo (his family name) instead of artistic name.
The album was finally released in June 2000. The album confirmed JB Mpiana’s artistic capabilities as a singer, as it featured a variety of genres (including salsa, rap, etc.) and made him earn alot of respect for the different topics he addressed, such as the songs Kinshasa, Education, Acappella and Lauréats 2000. However, the song Kinshasa caused problems for JB Mpiana. He and Alain Mpela were taken into custody for several hours, as the song was perceived as a criticism of the authorities. The depth of songs like 48 Heures Gecoco and Grâce à Toi Germain contributed to JB Mpiana's reputation as songwriter (even though he made use of ghostwriters). During the album's release period, the music videos for Éducation and T.H. were broadcasted on various television channels in Kinshasa.
Unlike other bands, who typically start performing immediately after releasing a new album, JB Mpiana (aside from a performance at the French Embassy in July 2000) officially began promoting the album two months later, in August 2000. He performed twice at FIKIN 2000, followed the next week by shows at l’Esplanade du Stade des Martyrs and the Terrain Municipal de Bandalungwa. He then crossed the Congo River to give two performances at the Palais du Parlement in Brazzaville.
Despite the popularity of T.H., the WMM camp attempted to undermine the album's promotion by making numerous TV appearances through spokespersons, musicians, and comedians, claiming the album was a flop. Both before and after the release of T.H., they did their best to promote Adricha Tipo Tipo’s solo album H.T. (Haute Tension), which had been recorded with the help of WMM members Flamme Kapaya, Japonais, and Bill Clinton, along with various session musicians such as Lofombo and the late Paty Moleso. The album featured several high-profile guest stars; Werrason, Tabu Ley, King Kester Emeneya and Manda Chante.
Wenge Maison Mère themselves returned to the studio to counter T.H. by recording two new génériques (Terrain Eza Mine and Intervention Rapide 2), a remix of Voyage and alternate versions of songs from Intervention Rapide. Tracks like PDG Makambo and Fredy Movadi were updated with short sèbènes of one to two minutes, featuring new cris such as “Bana bazo lia te.” The purpose was to release the album just before Bercy, but the album got released in December 2000. While the cri’s that were destined for the album “Mavondo azalaka lolendo”, “Bana Bazo Lia Te”, “Ngeli-Ngeli”, etc. had alot of succes in concerts, the album itself would flop very hard and song Voyage Remix serving as promotion for Adolphe Dominguez, who just left at that time that the album was released to form his band Wenge Tonya Tonya.
Still upset about how Wenge Maison Mère had tried to sabotage his concert at the Zénith, JB Mpiana decided to take revenge by organizing a show at LSC in Saint-Denis (Paris' suburn) on the same day (September 16th, 2000), when Wenge Maison Mère was scheduled to perform at Bercy in Paris. This decision had mixed reaction among BCBG fans in Kinshasa, some were happy, but there were also others who were wondering if JB Mpiana wasn't liking Congo, since that most Congolese artists spent at least six months in Kinshasa after releasing an album before heading to Europe. At the same time, Wenge Maison Mère fans claimed that JB Mpiana was afraid to perform at Bercy, saying that he had opted for a small venue to avoid the challenge. The annoucement of the fara-fara created alot of polemic and confrontations between the two camps (BCBG and Maison Mere) on different tv-channels of Kinshasa. Meanwhile, Aimelia Lias made a public declaration in Europe stating that he had joined Wenge Maison Mère. However, Wenge BCBG refuted the claim, insisting that he would rejoin them at LSC.
Wenge BCBG’s unexpected arrival in Paris was triumphant with all musicians and dancers dressed in military-style clothing. Their arrival led to clashes between Maison Mère and BCBG fans in Château Rouge. concertpromoter/producer/businessman/ photographer Joël "Photo" Mbetenge, who supported Werrason, tried to physically attack the BCBG musicians as they passed in front of his shop. At the same time, Wenge BCBG fans were wondering where Ali Mbonda was. Ali had left Wenge Maison Mère to join Wenge BCBG during the Solola Bien era, and his integration into the group had created alot of buzz and also a VHS being released on market at that time titled "Ali Mbonda Akati Se Layi na Wenge BCBG/Concert de Vérité".
During the fara-fara between Maison Mere and BCBG, the majority of the Congolese press in Europe sided with Werrason, because of concerpromoter Badive not allowing journalists to film JB Mpiana's show. At the same time, a significant portion of the Congolese diaspora sympathized with Werrason, mostly due to his efforts to support street children (shegués) through the foundation he had established around the time of his 2000 Stade des Martyrs concert, which served as promotion for the Bercy show. Influential women like Mère Malou, Evelyne Ngongolo (also known as Mère Eve), and Pépé Akundji, who had initially supported JB Mpiana, were mad with the way they had been treated by JB’s staff when he came to mix TH. They had been requested to speak first with Alain Mpela and Titina Al Capone, to reach to JB Mpiana, which they saw as disrespectful, since that they in their eyes contributed to succes in Europe during his previous tours. As result, they decided to support Werrason for the Bercy event.
An extract filmed by journalist Zacharie Bababaswe during the soundcheck gave the public in Kinshasa, the impression that JB Mpiana had performed in an empty hall, a narrative reinforced by several newspapers and press statements. By the time promoter Badive released the official concert cassette, it was already too late to change public opinion.
Although the fara-fara, the album T.H. kept going strong. Towards the end of the year, JB Mpiana would receive a record-amount of awards by ACMCO (star of the year, singer of the year, song of the year, songwriter of the year, album of the year, etc.). The success of T.H. in Europe earned Wenge BCBG numerous contracts, resulting in a record-amount of over 30 concerts between September 2000 and March 2001. Wenge BCBG would also become first Congolese band to perform in Ireland. However, during this same period, a rumor began circulating that JB Mpiana was living in exile in Europe for political reasons, claims that were quickly denied.
Towards the end of the tour, JB Mpiana received a contract to record a remix album of Feux de l'Amour, which was still going strong in countries like Guinee, Ivory Coast, Niger and Mali. But the project wouldn't take place due to different disagreements. In the spring of 2001, the official VHS of the T.H. music videos was released and sold as crazy
.
During Wenge BCBG’s concert at Élysée Montmartre, JB Mpiana’s upcoming show at Bercy was officially announced, causing great excitement among fans in Europe, Congo, and Canada. Upon his return to Kinshasa in March 2001, JB Mpiana was given a hero’s welcome. Although the planned concert at Stade des Martyrs getting cancelled, he was honored by being named a delegate of the International Red Cross and would shortly afterwards signing a lucratrive contract with brewery Bralima (Primus).
To avoid disrupting the ongoing success of T.H., the release of the album Internet meant for May 2001 was postponed to July 2001 and later September 2001. In the meantime, JB Mpiana focused on promoting his upcoming Bercy show and gave several concerts in Kinshasa, went for a series of concerts in Congolese cities such as Tshikapa, Mbuji Mayi, Lubumbashi and Kasumbalesa and went abroad as well to Chad, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Congo-Brazzaville.
Like Feux de l’Amour, T.H. would become a gold-record in 2001. There were talks about JB Mpiana getting a gold-record ceremony at Bercy for T.H., but it didn’t happen.
