@mvulusi96

I think Kester could have continued success had he kept Dream Team Dream Band together given the impact of Mboka Mboka and especially Long Histoire with the cries of kiwanzenza and tshaku libondas.

He should have appropriated touring revenue to pay his musicans properly instead of spending it on building that villa. Even with the success of Zenith, clearly fans rejected the new recruits because Nouvel Ordre flopped despite the cool new dance tchalufu

@mvulusi96

I think Kester could have continued success had he kept Dream Team Dream Band together given the impact of Mboka Mboka and especially Long Histoire with the cries of kiwanzenza and tshaku libondas.

He should have appropriated touring revenue to pay his musicans properly instead of spending it on building that villa. Even with the success of Zenith, clearly fans rejected the new recruits because Nouvel Ordre flopped despite the cool new dance tchalufu

I think that you didn't understand me. Emeneya used all touring revenue of 2001-02 to pay cars for each bandmember to keep them happy, so that they would return to Kinshasa since that he was never paying them before going to Europe. For the concert of Congo Brazzaville's indepedence-party at Stade Charletty in Paris, he paid every musician each 4.800 euros.



Lol, fans didn't reject the new recruits. It was the same line up of Longue Histoire except those who left, Emeneya only recruited Pompom Miyake who was already a proven singer (ex'Nouvelle Ecriture singer having the hitsong Jeancy on his name), Spino who joined in Europe after touring with Adolphe who was also already known, Fila Basele and the two atalaku's Mulo Scanto & Arc En Ciel. Those who had songs on Nouvel Ordre all partcipated on Longue Histoire and were already known.





Nouvel Ordre flopped because it wasn't promoted. Nouvel Ordre was released under the big label Lusafrica and the distribution being done by the multinational label Sony BMG. They had the chance to record professional videoclips and Lusafrica already sent a team to Kinshasa to shoot clips, but the musicians prefered to short shipment of their cars on the boat of Paris to Matadi first instead of shooting clips in Kinshasa. It made the directing of Lusafrica furious and Emeneya had to pay bills for not respecting the contract and Patrick Saint-Eloi (R.I.P.) a singer of Kassav who released an album in the same period benefied of the same team. The flop of Nouvel Ordre gave the journalist and boss of magazine "Grand Lac" Sam Mpengo Bey the chance to write 3 years long negative articles about Emeneya who had the in period abandon his ex'wife Liliane for Florence, writing then also about that.

Before performing at Zenith, people started already to forget about Longue Histoire (who was on his way to become 2 years old) and its cries Kiwanzenza and Tchakou Libondas, Kibuisa Mpimpa came on the market and Werrason then presented the new dance Koyimbi-Ko at the FIKIN. I remember then Emeneya coming furious on tv, being angry that the Koyimbi-ko took Kinshasa by storm lol (he was so funny). Mboka Mboka was a remix album of the songs of Succes Fous with the cries all bands were animating in 1997 and 1998. Emeneya was barely performing those songs in concerts when Longue Histoire came out. in 2001 he was always performing his hitssongs of the 80s along with those of Longue Histoire.

But why do Kester's story sound sad every time it's told? Was his case a case of poor management or he simply did not do enough when he was up?

But why do Kester's story sound sad every time it's told? Was his case a case of poor management or he simply did not do enough when he was up?

The problem was just that there were to much betrayers in his staff (Mambo de Panama, JDK Decor, etc.) and Koffi & Wemba fighting him and doing everything to humilate and ignore him in interviews. Back in 1998, there was a VHS released of Koffi's concert in Abidjan with an interview as bonus, then they asked Koffi if he knew an artist called Kester Emeneya and he replied by no. It shoked the Congolese community in Europe a little bit who had seen that VHS. (I guess that the Ivorian press wanted to let him listen an extrat of their duo-album Lady Bo '84 or show an old footage of the two guys, like they like to suprise their guests)

I think that Emeneya's story would have been very different if he didn't stay 7 years in Europe without returning to Kinshasa. He gave his friend Koffi Olomide and Wenge 4X4 alot of space to extend their succes and for Wenge 4x4 also the fanbase. Then Papa Wemba also made an ...  . The Wake-Up album really motivated him to go back to Kinshasa and prove them a point in Succes Fous, because they didn't mention his name while even guys like General Defao, Nyboma, Reddy Amisi, Dindo Yogo, Kanda Bongo Man, Evoloko, Alain Makaba and JB Mpiana got a shoot-out. I remember his staff having recorded a VHS called "Bavard Vas" about that before recording Succes Fous.

I've never seen a very sensitive staff like that of Emeneya. In 1999 they released an VHS called "Disque d'Or" which was about Zacharie Bababaswe and King Kester Emeneya going to SACEM to see if those gold records of Congolese artists were real and in 2004 they released a VHS with all his fans in Europe insulting Bipoli.

@mvulusi96

Is there any Congolese artist with a true Gold certified album? I heard a lot of the musicans presented with Disque d'Or didn't sell that many records in a short period of time. I wonder if their music was distributed in music retailers, did their albums chart on the European music charts?

@mvulusi96

Is there any Congolese artist with a true Gold certified album? I heard a lot of the musicans presented with Disque d'Or didn't sell that many records in a short period of time. I wonder if their music was distributed in music retailers, did their albums chart on the European music charts?

No. Only Papa Wemba with Emotion which was certified gold in the USA by the RIAA in 1999. Mostly due to the single Fa Fa Fa Fa (which was sung in the 60s by Otis Redding) and the tour he made with Peter Gabriel in US in 1998. Btw there was some quarrel about the promotion of Emotion in 1995 between Papa Wemba and Peter Gabriel. Papa Wemba wanting Show me the Way to be the promotion-single and Peter Gabriel wanting Fa Fa Fa Fa.

The albums of those Congolese artists were only sold in Paris (Chateaux Rouge), Brussels (Matonge), London (Tottenham), Cologne (Germany) and Geneve in those little African shops or at cd-shops owned by guys like Photo Joel Mbetenge, Babs, Bob Masua, Rigo Makengo, etc. Those who signed with Sonodisc/Sono/Next Music or were distributed by them had the chance to see their albums being sold at FNAC. I don't know if you know FNAC ? FNAC is a big store in France that sells books, cds, etc. There was a moment that G5 artists were bragging in Kinshasa about their albums being sold at FNAC. \

Lol, none of those albums ended it those European music charts, because they weren't produced by majors. To end up in those charts you need to be promoted or distributed by those major labels (Sony, Universal, BMG, etc.). The only one to end up in European music charts was Papa Wemba back in 1985/86, because of the song Proclamation being part of the soundtrack of movie Black Big Mack.

That stuff about Congolese artists getting "fake" gold records started with Abeti Masikini in 1982. Back in the days it was almost impossible for African artist to get a gold record because there not alot of African people in Europe and African music not promoted in the media. So Abeti's husband manager Gerard Akueson made an arrangement with SACEM for African artists and a factory in Germany, that they had only to sell 50.000 copies around the world to get a gold record instead of having to sell 100.000 copies in France or 15.000 in Belgium which was very hard. With Abeti Masikini then being the firstCongolese artist to get a gold record in 1982, then Tabu Ley in 1984, then Franco in 1986, Koffi Olomide in 1995 and then with a battle starting in the late 90s and early 2000s (Koffi, JB, Werra, ...).

I noticed that Abeti Masikini doesn't get alot enough credit while she done alot in Congolese music. Looks like all credits go to Tshala Muana, Mbilia Bel and Mpongo Love. Abeti Masikini was the first Congolese woman to perform at Olympia in 1973, coming back in 1975 for two shows.  She was the  the first Congolese woman to perform at the Carnegie Hall in New York. She was the second African artist after Fela Kuti to perform at Zenith de Paris in 1988, inviting then Kester Emeneya and Pepe Kalle. In 1979 she performed at the mythic Royal Albert Hall of London. In 1989 she got the chance to tour in China giving 17 shows and in the same year she got the chance to perform at the mythic Apollo Theater of Harlem. Before her death she had projects to perform at Bercy and made in 1993 the African community in Paris ready. But she very sick and sadly died in 1994.

@mvulusi96

Why did Kester cancel those tours in the UK and Brazil? Those could have been a great opportunity to make money and give him the confidence to respond to those who dismissed him in his polemic against Koffi & Wemba.

I almost forgot about Abeti Masikini, she accomplished feats that remain to be repeated. I remember hearing about her performing at Carnegie Hall...not even Fally Ipupa could align such a venue and he is currently our most popular artist!

@mvulusi96

Why did Kester cancel those tours in the UK and Brazil? Those could have been a great opportunity to make money and give him the confidence to respond to those who dismissed him in his polemic against Koffi & Wemba.

I almost forgot about Abeti Masikini, she accomplished feats that remain to be repeated. I remember hearing about her performing at Carnegie Hall...not even Fally Ipupa could align such a venue and he is currently our most popular artist!

He to had perform at the Brixton Academy in London in summer of 2003, but he prefered to cancel it to spend more times in Kinshasa since that they spent 21 months abroad. So he postened it to the summer of 2004, planning also to record his solo album there. But  then he cancelled it again. I don't know for what reasosn with those newsppers taking avantage of it, saying that he was scamming his musicians morally, that he was finished and not serious. He did the same thing with the contract of Brazil postponed it for 2005, but then not being called anymore. Missing that opportunity.

Maybe that Fally will play there 3 or 2 years later. This summer he will perform like her in 1989 at the Apollo Theater. I wonder if he will make alot of noise about it, because Congolese people only focus on the mythic musichalls of Paris.

Papa Wemba had the chance to perform at the Royal Albert Hall with Nouvelle Ecriture in 2002, like Abeti Masikini in 1979, getting then also the chance to be the first African artist to sold it out. But he prefered to return to Kinshasa first and perform there in 2003. Getting some months later arrested for the Ngulu affair. With in 2017 the Nigerian singer Wizkid being the first African to sell Royal Albert Hall out. I'm sure that Fally, Werrason, or Koffi would have sold that venue already out if there wasn't a concert-ban in London. From 1998 they were already giving sold out concerts at the Brixton Academy. I saw some months ago that Davido sold out the The 02 Arena, Congolese artists could have done it already 5/10 years ago if there wasn't a concert-ban. We sadly missed all those opportunities. Lucikly that there isn't a cocncert-ban in the USA.

@mvulusi96

Carnegie Hall will be a challange for Fally Ipupa to book. The administration at that concert hall are very picky as to who will perform at their venue because they want ensure the entire venue will sell out on a single night with tickets ranging from $100 to $1,500 depending on seating.

Wyclef Jean would be the first non-classical Black artist to headline a performace there in 2004. Despite his international success prior to the concert, he got a huge assist from Destiny's Child, Mary J Blige, and Stevie Wonder who were special guest performaces which helped him lock down the concert and sell out that night.





The same wouldn't happen for another eight years with Jay-Z, he played the whole venue without assistance given his large catolog of hits and global name recognition.



The United States is tricky, I'm not sure Fally Ipupa has the clout to perform there. He's known outside the United States, but here it's only the African diaspora that are familar with his work.

Wow serious tickets of $100 to $1.500 !!!!

I tought that there was a big Hatitian community in New York or are they not solidary like African people ?

About Fally Ipupa you never know, Abeti wasn't also known in the USA, but she had a strong manager (Gerard Akueson) who had a big network. She could have gone very far in her career. But Mobutu messed everything up. After having performed at the Carnegie Hall, she had to do an extensive U.S.-tour and was about to break into the U.S. market. But the politicians from Zaire were insisting that Abeti had to fly to Europe to sing for Mobutu who had to give a speach there. Akueson and Abeti were scared for the consequences if they would disobey. So they cancelled all her U.S. dates, but Mobutu's meeting got also cancelled on the end. Akueson tried then to contact those concert-promoters, to re-start those U.S.-tour dates but the concert-promoters refused. If that didn't happen, then maybe she would have made her name in the U.S. like Myriam Makeba.

@mvulusi96

The area where they live is between Avenue H-Brooklyn Avenue, Parkside Avenue and East 16th Street, which we call "Little Haiti". Just like how the Italians have their cultural town of "Little Italy" a couple blocks off Lower Manhattan.

West and Central Africans will be found in Bronx and Brooklyn. Everyone in New York will frequent each other's areas markets for traditional foods, clothing, and music so I don't think it would be too difficult to mobilize everyone to promote Fally Ipupa enough to get the attention of Carnegie Hall's administrators.

Although it's more affordable to be invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, an artist can place a "bid" to be considered. Speculative rates for a single day performace can start at $30,000 and increase. But the Hall can deny you, especially if they feel like you lack name recognition.

Of all our current talent in Congo, Fally Ipupa has the best chance at being invited to the Hall. He already does a fantastic job of self-promotion on social media, but there's a disconnect everytime he tries to expand his music to the United States. The BET Awards completely robbed him of Best International Act award, despite a lot of people here were intrigued by Eloko Oyo.





Like Wyclef, he should have a strong album that should preceed the concert and invite other big name artists as special guest if he wants a good chance at performing there. The  production value of his concerts leading up to Carnegie Hall  must show sophistication like his Zenith concert of 2009, it cannot be like these:





If he can get something close to this, then I believe he can book an appearance.