I often see younger people compare Quartier Latin to Wenge Maison Mère, about who having the best team, generics or albums. But instead of calling it Maison Mère, they always just say “Wenge.” While you have the iconic Wenge Musica 4x4, Wenge BCBG, Wenge El Paris, Wenge Tonya Tonya, etc., Is it due to Wenge BCBG being to centered around JB Mpiana and the beef that existed between Wenge BCBG and Wenge Maison Mère (1997-2002) being bigger than the succes Wenge Musica 4x4 had. Or does it mean that Wenge Maison Mère had a bigger impact on people than Wenge Musica 4x4 because of the success being transgenerational ?
The same when it comes to the Esprit Wenge, I don’t really see the connection with Wenge Musica 4x4 Bon Chic Bon Genre. Makaba, JB, Werrason, Masela, Adolphe, Blaise and co were all part of Wenge 4x4, which had an image of bourgeoisie, elegance and class. The old generation saw them as stubborn, but you would not see them insult rivals on tv and there were no spokemen at that time, as journalists would give the info themselves on tv in French if there were no interviews with the artists.
When I think of Esprit Wenge, I associate it more with Maison Mere. Thinking about Bill Clinton, Sankara, Ferre Gola, Baby Ndombé, Celeo, Kakol and co, as well their younger brothers Héritier, Jitrois, Cappucino, Brigade,etc. They were often reported to be fighting in nightclubs, stories of not getting along despite being in the same band, dissing rivals openly on tv with alot of anger, etc. Why isn’t it called" Esprit Maison Mère" instead?
