Musically and sonically speaking, with ALL bias put aside. If we dont take into account how much more succesful 4x4 ended up being. I think Molangi Ya Malasi was a better effort than Bouger Bouger and Kin E Bouger and I might even add Kalayi Boing in the mix. Do you guys agree or disagree. We all understand the impact that 4x4 had on the culture but I’m speaking strictly sonically/musically here.


Why is it that Wenge 4x4 live performances were 100x better than their albums(other than pentagone). Why does it sound so freaking Jazzy/Poppish in the studio rather than Rumba-ish like the reat of the music of the time?

Yeah Molangi Ya Malasi (1991) & Nganga Nzambe (1992) are better. But don't forget that both albums are solo albums of Ricoco & Marie Paul and they are record in Paris, while Bouger Bouger was recorded in Kinshasa at the Bobongo Studio. Also Wenge Aile Paris made those albums on the style of Victoria Eleison, while Wenge 4x4 started to abdon it already from Bouger Bouger. With Makaba trying to mix it with Zaiko-style and keyboard-sounds. But people don't know it since that they discovered Wenge 4x4 on that album and Kin E Bouge has nothing to the with the Wenge before 1988 and was revolutanary with his new sound and music. Molangi Ya Malasi is a mix of Soukous with the music-style of Victoria Eleison. Zing Zong is the brain behind it. The same Zing-Zong played on Wenge 4x4 unreleased album recorded in 1986. I heard the full album at my friends house who was close to Wenge 4x4. That album was far better than Bouger Bouger and had Zing Zong the lead with Werrason then trying to sing like Emeneya.




I think that you are born in the 90's lol. If you were of that time you would find Kin E Bouge, Kalayi Boeing and Anges Adorables fantastic. It was seen as very inovative and fresh with the new sound they made after people hearing years Victoria Eleison, Viva La Musica, Choc Stars, Anti Choc and Zaiko's music-style. Wenge Aile Paris mantained that Victoria Eleison sound which Wenge 4x4 started to abandon, since that Zing Zong & Aime Buanga were still around. Listen to the songs Gainsi Alino (not fidelite sens unique, cd-maker made a mistake) and Dernier Sommeil d'Amour, espcially the sebenes of all songs from the Nganga Nzambe-album and compare it to the songs on Manhattan and Deux Temps of Victoria Eleison.




Wenge EL Paris made a drastic change when Zing Zong left. Le Monde Envers (Armageddon) has a different style than the previous albums, having Alain Mwepu and Ofulu Ocean on the lead. But they still had that trival Kimbala/Kiyaka rhythm on some songs (Britanny La Fille du Roi & Tcha Tcho), which you also hear on Nganga Nzambe and Gainsi Alino. It became Wenge EL Paris identic rhythm,




Kalayi Boeing a real masterpiece (I prefer Kin E Bouge) and a fimbu ya mokolo with them attacking Wenge Aile Paris "balingi ba diminuer, toko diminuer bango" and "bako bandela". It would be intressting to hear a reponse from Wenge Aile Paris's camp. But the conflict with Kongolo Mobutu "aka Saddam Hussein" made them block and wait them 4 years long. With Wenge 4x4 already having released Anges Adorables volume 1& 2 and Pentagone. Marie Paul's reponse Le Monde Envers against Le Monde est Mechant  <<Kin E Bouge "remix">> (which was a diss-track against Wenge Aile Paris, recorded in 1992) came to late. Because Wenge would split not long after that and they had already done the Lisapo-vocal on Daddet with Aime Buanga and Zing Zong who were the co-founders not being around anymore.

Btw Wenge Aile Paris was in the beginning supported by Papa Wemba & King Kester Emeneya who were living in Paris at that moment with sapeur Modogo Gianfranco Ferre having wrote some songs for them. session-drummer Djudjuchet Luvengoka participated in the two albums. experienced keyboard-player Nzenze Mongeno who played in Zaiko Langa Langa and Grand Zaiko Wawa participated in many soukous-albums and albums made by artists based in Paris played in Molangi Ya Malasi. Mabusele (who was then singing in Victoria Eleison) and Joly Mubiala (Emeneya brother, ex'singer of Victoria Eleison and Viva La Musica) putted some vocals in Molangi Ya Malasi. Boss Matuta who played for Viva La Musica also played on both albums. And you got also Lidjona who played years in Anti-Choc as rhythm-player whp participated on Nganga Nzambe. So Aile Paris's two first albums were a mix of Wenge Aile Paris artists with experienced musicians. While Wenge 4x4 recorded without help of experienced artists on every album (not counting Pile Ou Face & Feux de L'Amour).

You know mvulusi that last part makes a LOT of sense. Because to me it was just the 4x4 studio album quality that just didnt sound full like molangi ya malasi. The sound sounded so much fuller on the aile paris end. Just listened to bouger bouger and it sounded like they only had one guitar playing where im used to hearing the bass and mi solo/solo  on most songs i listen to.

Just listened to bebe by Zing Zong. Who is Zing Zong? Is he Alain Muanga? And who played bass and solo on Bebe? That might be one of the best wenge songs I’ve ever heard in my whole entire life to be quite honest with you. Also what was Aime Bwanga’s role in the Wenge Musica days?


Who played lead/mi solo/bass on bouger bouger and kin e bouger? Do you know? I know makaba was involved but did he get any help.


Also yes I was born in 93 in Paris raised there and everything so I’m a ndombolo baby. So my ears dont like anything that doesnt sound like Soukouss/Rumba thats why I have kind of a hard time with the first Wenge albums. All I know is ndombolo lol

You know mvulusi that last part makes a LOT of sense. Because to me it was just the 4x4 studio album quality that just didnt sound full like molangi ya malasi. The sound sounded so much fuller on the aile paris end. Just listened to bouger bouger and it sounded like they only had one guitar playing where im used to hearing the bass and mi solo/solo  on most songs i listen to.

Just listened to bebe by Zing Zong. Who is Zing Zong? Is he Alain Muanga? And who played bass and solo on Bebe? That might be one of the best wenge songs I’ve ever heard in my whole entire life to be quite honest with you. Also what was Aime Bwanga’s role in the Wenge Musica days?


Who played lead/mi solo/bass on bouger bouger and kin e bouger? Do you know? I know makaba was involved but did he get any help.


Also yes I was born in 93 in Paris raised there and everything so I’m a ndombolo baby. So my ears dont like anything that doesnt sound like Soukouss/Rumba thats why I have kind of a hard time with the first Wenge albums. All I know is ndombolo lol

Yes Dr Zing Zong's real name is Alain-Luc Mwanga.  Didier Masela and Alain Buanga were sharing the bass-role. So it's one of the two guys. the guy who played lead is Zing-Zong. He played lead on the whole album. He created also the sebenes of Mulolo and La Fille du Roi, but went then to Europe before they recorded that album. Aime Buanga had the rol of "fondateur" when he was still around and then Didier Masela replaced him on that role, after that he went to Brussels for studies.

Djolina played rhythm on Bouger Bouger, Blaise Kombo (R.I.P.) played mi-solo on Bouger Bouger and Alain Makaba played lead. After Blaise Kombo's death. Alain Mwepu (brother of Christian Mwepu) who was the reserve solist took that mi-solo spot, sharing it with Fi-Carre and Patient Kusangila who just joined. With Djolina sharing the rhythm-role with Collegien Zola.

On Kin E Bouge, Alain Makaba played both rhtyhm and lead along with the keyboard, since that Collegien Zola who was the rhythm-player left after that they performed in Switerland.

LikeI said about Bouger Bouger, that's because they recorded at Studio Bobongo, which doesn't have a good sound like VEVE or Studio IAD in Brazzaville.

The only things I didn't like from Alain Makaba was the way he was prefering programmated drums instead of real. I didn't like Pleins Feux,because of that (except the rumba's). Wenge Musica recorded all sebene-songs on live, except his (C'est Trop Tard Djenga & Dizoizo). But I liked his work on Tuna Tina & Princesse Pathy. Also the work he did together with Desire Kalala on Mon Ami Coboss, Nazareth & Tcha Tcho and the intro of La Vie (remix of Fisol) Desire Kalala left Wenge to early. He, Theo Bidens (Wenge BCBG), Nzenze Mongeno, Jose Piano (Zaiko), Alpha Kopeya (Zaiko), Guy Matope (Zaiko), Modikilo Modeste (Zaiko),Ondoma Motema (QL) & Ernest Mvouama are the few of the many keyboardplayers who conviced me.







Fisol became the intro of all Sonodisc-VHS from 1996 until 1998