No you are not the only one. Alot of people were accussing Koffi of plagiat, because of Beevans. He was forced to held a press-conference about that and the problem with Scola Miel. There was a VHS about that press-conference about it, but that video is very rare. Those VHS are along with Koffi Olomide/Papa Wemba "Qui dit Vraie' / (after Olympia), Le Mea Culpa de Koffi Olomide (1999), the one he made before bercy which was with rouph mbuta nganga about his roots & early career and Nganda Ya ba Nganga of 1996with Bolowa Bonzakwa when he won some trophies at the Africar-awards are those rare videos i'm looking for. I was a millionaires would put my money in finding those videos.

Btw Nganda ya ba Nganga is nothing compared to that of Bolowa. The last two female journalists don't know anything about the artists they are inviting. I watched Manda Chante's interview yesterday, but auwhn. That girl asked Manda about the split of Wenge, while he wasn't there since 5 years and it smeems that she didn't know that he was a member of Wenge EL Paris. While that moment was the highlight of his career. The same thing with the interviews of Kija Brown, Adolphe Dominguez, Nyoka Longo & Tcha Tcho Mbala. I don't know where the Congolese press the going. Congo ebebi dans tout les domaines.

Looks like Koffi recuited alot musicians in the image of Clan Wenge.

Beevans/Robert Ekokota
Mboshi Bola/Tutu Calugi
Champion Djikapela/Titina Al Capone
Kerozene/Bill Clinton Kalonji
Cambodge/Papy Kakol

It would have intressting to hear Bill Clinton Kalonji in Abacadabra. But his atalaku's refused his participation.

I always under impression that Koffi at the time dedicated distortion to Lebou & Beniko. And that Beniko played solo and distortion on Andrada, while Koffi took the role of rythm, with Lebou on Mi-solo.

Yea, Koffi never had confidence in Coco Tchomba - too one-dimensional. I also don't understand why Kaps Kapangala didn't get more time; he faired better becoming a session drummer. Djuju Music was the best session drummer so he was very reliable.

My favorites are Fouta Djallon, Asprine, & Bambino, but I really loved Etat Civil. Of all the Koffi songs I've played a lot, Etat Civil is probably the one I repeated the most.

I know there are songs that did not make the cut due to time constraints, I wonder if Koffi has those recordings for himself still. Also, he used to make multiple instrumental variations of his songs, so he might have different versions of Fouta Djallon, Park ya Baba, Bambino, & Chantou.

By the way, its me who took the booklet on Discogs with Stephie, pas de faux pas, noblesse oblige, magie, v12 and other, if someone want the booklet in large format i can send him !

I think that is Beniko who played the distortion but i’m not sure. Why Sam Tshintu dont sang in V12 ? The era where Koffi traveling with only 4 singers in Europe had already started at this time?

Merci masta. I really appricate the online community we've established with educated contributers here, youtube (Pado Kwado, Ingénieur Lz Tumbula, Harris Diavua Salakiaku, Shaddy Raddy922, and many more), & Discogs (dicapipups, Kozak5, zedimaliga, etc) to preseve the greatness (and negatives) of the genre.

BTW, I uploaded the album booklet in order, but everytime I do this it always goes out of order when posted. If anyone has a solution to this it would be appreciated for future posts like this

Matebu you should download CamScanner the application for phones. It lets you take pictures and then it can convert them in ADP or regular Jpeg. Let me know if you need assistance, I been uploading all my work paperwork with it for two years it saved me from having to stop at the library to literally scan what I wanna send away. You can use it for pictures as well and the quality is pretty good.

Thanks, @Brazzaboy. Duly noted

@mvulusi96

That's a great observation you made about Koffi's modeling his band after Wenge! Although it could be said that Quarter Latin had a better drummer than Wenge Musica, specifically Masion Mere and Tonya Tonya.

Papy Kakol is a legend with the snare drum rolls, but compared to his contemporaries he is somewhat limited in his dynamics as a player...at least in the beginning of his run with Wenge. Which could explain Dju Dju Chet involvement in Solola Bien and Kibusia Mpimpa.

Coco Tchomba never stood a chance! From all the concerts I've seen of him, he's decent behind the drum kit but not superstar material. Tshé-Tshé De Balle was a solid drummer, I don't know why he didn't remain with the group. He would of likely replaced Champion.

Academia recuited Tshe Tshe le Balle as drummer when they came in Kinshasa, after that Koffi left him behind in Kinshasa. He rejoined Quartier Latin in 2003. But had Cambodge & Titina before him. Them when he became the 1ste drummer of the band he was never getting the chance to travel to in Europe. Koffi was always calling Champion if he wanted to perform in Europe I don't understand why.

Champion Djikapela is an excellent drummer, but Titina Al Capone is a little bit better than him. Kin E Bouge & Zenith 1999 says everthyhing. Champion's drumming style and "ba passage" he was using were created by Titina back in 1991.

I don't know if you know Kompressor of Wenge Tonya Tonya he was also an execellent drunmer M. Listen to the Mouna-album and Fara Fara of 2002. Affaire Tonya Tonya, which was recorded in Kinshasa makes himsound limited, while he wasn't. All albums  recorded in Kinshasa before 2003 in studio Ndiaye or Meko never shows how good the drummers were. Deo Sfe (R.I.P.) for example who was one of the two best drummers in Kinshasa had the same thing in A La Une. People were lucking to hear/watch his drumming skills in Somo Trop, Stade des Martyrs 2002, Bercy, Olympia & Zenith 2000.

@mvulusi96

Did Tshe Tshe le Balle play drums on Viagra for Quarter Latin Academia? What was the deal with having Kaps Kapangala as drummer when the band form if he only played drums on Da Silva? Why did Dju Dju Chet play the majority of the album if the group already had a drummer? I'm assuming Kaps joined them to late in the recording.

@mvulusi96

Did Tshe Tshe le Balle play drums on Viagra for Quarter Latin Academia? What was the deal with having Kaps Kapangala as drummer when the band form if he only played drums on Da Silva? Why did Dju Dju Chet play the majority of the album if the group already had a drummer? I'm assuming Kaps joined them to late in the recording.

Yeah he played on Viagra. They mentoined him many times in that album. Kaps didn't join to late. It's just that Djudju-shet is a excellent drummer. They had alot of respect for Kaps, since that he was a member of Quartier Latin in the past, so let him play a song otherwise he wouldn't play a song. If you look the concerts they made before going to Kinshasa you will see Djudju play almost the whole concert and Kaps just one or 2 songs.

@mvulusi96

Did Tshe Tshe le Balle play drums on Viagra for Quarter Latin Academia? What was the deal with having Kaps Kapangala as drummer when the band form if he only played drums on Da Silva? Why did Dju Dju Chet play the majority of the album if the group already had a drummer? I'm assuming Kaps joined them to late in the recording.

Yes tshe tshe de balle was the drummer in viagra. + fun facts : tshe tshe was one of the male dancer in v12 video clips, he would later learn drum by himself (i think everybody know this lol)

@Matebu you're welcome bro

@mvulusi96 @Wenge1995 guy i'm fully agree with you, moreover Koffi has revealed himself in an interview with Tshiluizi that he was a big fan of Ekokota. Between the 90's and 00's, Koffi wanted to reproduce the animation style of Wenge 4x4 with Ekokota and then of Maison Mere with Kerozene and Brigade to imitate Bill Clinton and Celeo Scram

After reading all this I feel like Beevans should get way more credit. You dont ever hear much about him but to me Magie will always be Koffis best album and V12 is a good album as well but the sebenes on those albums were classics up there with the Lois and Attentats

After reading all this I feel like Beevans should get way more credit. You dont ever hear much about him but to me Magie will always be Koffis best album and V12 is a good album as well but the sebenes on those albums were classics up there with the Lois and Attentats

Koffi could have made V12 a bit more danceable if he wanted to, but Magie was already enough, I think Koffi wanted V12 to be as serious as possible and look ... today it's considered the Koffi's most beautiful album with unmatched songs like "Fouta Djallon", "Aspirine" .... Koffi is first of all a rumba artist, that is to say favoring the lyrics and the composition. He also knows how to make us dance and it's thanks to Wenge 4x4 that Koffi survived on the side of generics / sebene

Yes he combined, and in my personal opinion his sound was better. Wenge had the blueprint, but melodically I never really liked their regular songs that werent sebenes, just a few rumbas. Koffi on the other hand was wayyyy ahead of JB in the rumba department in my opinion and his instrumentalisation was better to me as far as sebenes went. Dont know what the atalakus actually say so I cant jusge on that, but as far as the sound I think Koffi sonically had Wenge beat since Pas de Faux Pas

Don't compare JB Mpiana to Koffi with making rumba's songs. Koffi was already making classic rumba's back in 1985 at that moment nobody knew what Wenge Musica was. JB M'piana first and only slow song in Wenge 4x4 was Mon Ami Coboss ('93), but that was sung along with the other guys JB Mpiana started to concentratre on rumba's from his first solo album Feux de L'Amour. At that moment Koffi Olomide was already 20 years in the game.

Most members of Quartier Latin came from Flash Musica (Rockly Blanchard, Lebou Kabuya, Sam Tshintu, Suzuki, Modogo & Willy Bula). Flash Music were like Lavignora Esthetique, Attraction Babylone, Yoka Choc, Lemba Musica, etc. rivals/concurrents of Wenge Musica. Koffi Olomide discovered them in 1990, during the mouring day of the mi-solo guitarist Blaise Kombo (who played for Wenge). After they performed he recuited Rocky Blanchard and later Suzuki and slowly all the keymember until 1994 with Sam Tshintu as last keymember, who was the bandleader of Flash Musica. Pas de Faux Pas hasn't really the style of Wenge Musica 4x4, they were playing the way the most youngster bands of the late '80s/early 90's were playing. From Noblesse Oblige they atarted to adopt that Wenge-style (animation & sebens). From Ultimatum they started to have their own style. I think that it would be more intressting if Koffi recruited a calugist for V12. Because the animation Beevans did were animations Calugi was doing in concerts for Wenge 4x4 along with the Mandundu-animation of Shora Mbemba. Tutu Calugi was already making furore back in 1994 with his new animations, which he used in Pentagone. Koffi was pissing Wenge 4x4/Clan Wenge alot of times off by using their animations earlier then them. With people in the diaspora and Africa thinking that Quartier Latin made those cries and dances. That's why people in Kinshasa didn't really respect Koffi back in the days, because they saw him as a copy cat . A guy who copies Wenge to survive in the music-scene,while guys of his generation started to dissapear.

The crazy thing is that nobody was talking that way about Defao, when he started to have succes in the mid-1990. With Theo Mbala using Calugi's cries.

I understand what you’re saying but  for some reason Koffi 1992-1996 sonically sounds better to my ears than Kalayi Boing, Pleins Feux and I might even add Pentagone in there. A lot of wenge 4x4 songs sound like Pop songs/world music until the sebene part. I wonder if thats Makaba’s fault because i believe he was artistic director of the group or if JB kinda liked those Pop portion of the songs. Because after the split it was barely anymore of that sound, maybe because times had changes but then again maybe Werrason and Adolphe were more purists.