yeah there is something strange,for example the most popular francophone artists of africa,we can pick for example fally,toofan duo,late arafat,none of them picked true disque d'or( although fally managed single d'or with booba feat,and possibly with eloko oyo i have a little doubt) arafat put mad pressure of his fans  and even ranting at them in his videos to buy cds so that he brings first ivorian-based disque d'or since the days where his late father used to be arranger of big stars and could not even achieve 50K cd sold but look at millions of fans mourning him now around africa
one thing i want to add about the fake disque d'ors of the past is that producers also "gave symbolically" disque d'or to their artists based on estimation of cds from piracy sold in streets for little money
i have once hear for example monsieur simon say that on feux de l'amour there was over 200000 fake cds sold in africa

Piracy in the congelese music is mad messed up. Just checked the site and it says that fally got a gold one with booba, and the track he did with keblack and naza.

1. Franco Luambo Makiadi
2. Tabu Ley
3. Papa Wemba/Koffi Olomide (sometimes i put Koffi above Wemba and there are days that I put Wemba above Koffi)
5. Pepe Kalle

Followed by King Kester Emeneya, Clan Wenge (JB & Werra), Grand Kalle, Bozi Boziana, Lutumba Simaro, etc.

According to RFI, Fally Ipupa sold more than 50.000 copies a month with the album becoming gold, because since 2009 the new rule was 50.000 copies in France for a gold record (from 2005-2009 it was 75.000 copies). But there wasn't a official ceremony or party for that like when he received a gold record for Droit Chemin. Then in 2011 it was reported that Arsenal des Belles Melodies had sold more than 250.000 copies and became a platinum record. It can be possibe that they sold alot of discs in the first month of its release because A2BM was then in 2009, the most awaited album of the year. But I think that 50.000 copies was just a publicity-stunt.

Zaiko's album Nippon Banzai (1986) was close to become a gold record, but they weren't selling album (na ndenge ya desorde) like the way Congolese people say, so it didn't became a gold record. That album sold so well everybody bought it white people, community of people coming the French West-Indies and African people. Zaiko even performed with that album at the French channel TF1 and Sony BMG (CBS at that time) offered them a contract to join their label.



What do you mean with impact ? The influence or terms of succes. Because if it influence then I would say Papa Wemba's Fula Ngenge. Because all bandleaders copied that concept of various music-styles in a solo album (ndombolo, rumba, world-music, hiphop, salsa, folkloric music)  in solo albums who were released after it (Attentat, TH, Kibuisa Mpimpa).

If its about term of succes then I would say Solola Bien, Kibuisa Mpimpa was also a huge succes, but it wasn't the same like Solola Bien which succes was very huge and the generic becoming one of the most danced of the Ndombolo-era. Almost everybody of the Congolese community had that disc at home, even JB-fans. 

Would yo say that zaiko peaked in the 80s?. I remember when i was young that even in 2002 solola bien was still being played, i didn't know that papa wemba layed the blueprint with fula ngenge which made artist mix everything in one disc. For me that was the album of the year

yeah there is something strange,for example the most popular francophone artists of africa,we can pick for example fally,toofan duo,late arafat,none of them picked true disque d'or( although fally managed single d'or with booba feat,and possibly with eloko oyo i have a little doubt) arafat put mad pressure of his fans  and even ranting at them in his videos to buy cds so that he brings first ivorian-based disque d'or since the days where his late father used to be arranger of big stars and could not even achieve 50K cd sold but look at millions of fans mourning him now around africa
one thing i want to add about the fake disque d'ors of the past is that producers also "gave symbolically" disque d'or to their artists based on estimation of cds from piracy sold in streets for little money
i have once hear for example monsieur simon say that on feux de l'amour there was over 200000 fake cds sold in africa

Piracy in the congelese music is mad messed up. Just checked the site and it says that fally got a gold one with booba, and the track he did with keblack and naza.

That's not a disque d'or (gold record), but a single d'or (gold single). I guess you know what the difference between the two is. Single d'or is a single what went gold and a disque d'or is an album that went gold.

That's how all Congolese people had discovered that all disque d'or were fake when Fally received a certified gold single SNEP with then all those analyse videos from youtube-journalists starting and all those facebook pages coming with those screenshots of the SNEP-website 2 years ago. With most Fally-fans also being happy because they could then prove that Fabregas "double disque d'or" was fake.

yeah, 1986-88 were the peak-years of Zaiko before the split with Zaiko Familia Dei. Also 1973-74 before the split with Isifi Lokole when Evoloko Lay, Papa Wemba and Bozi left and 1980-81 before the creation of Langa Langa Stars when Evoloko, Bozi and Djo Mali left Zaiko.

Technically, Fally is the only Congo-based artist to actually go gold, albeit with a single rather than an album.

yeah there is something strange,for example the most popular francophone artists of africa,we can pick for example fally,toofan duo,late arafat,none of them picked true disque d'or( although fally managed single d'or with booba feat,and possibly with eloko oyo i have a little doubt) arafat put mad pressure of his fans  and even ranting at them in his videos to buy cds so that he brings first ivorian-based disque d'or since the days where his late father used to be arranger of big stars and could not even achieve 50K cd sold but look at millions of fans mourning him now around africa
one thing i want to add about the fake disque d'ors of the past is that producers also "gave symbolically" disque d'or to their artists based on estimation of cds from piracy sold in streets for little money
i have once hear for example monsieur simon say that on feux de l'amour there was over 200000 fake cds sold in africa

Yeah, those pirates were solding millions fake cds and cassettes of JB Mpiana, Koffi Olomide, Extra Musica, Kanda Bongo Man, Aurlus Mabele, General Defao and Awilo Longomba.

@Mvulusi96 @Archos

Would you say that the rampant rise in piracy gave rise to the mabanga phenomena as we know it today where artists have to pre-sale their songs before release whereas previously mabanga was not as monetised as it is today?

clearly yes,nowadays artists can earn as much on selling a song to a rich donor as what they earn through sales,downloads and so on of a whole album which is why artists have increased the number of songs,since they are in self production mode for most, what they spend to record is a lit bit inferior to what they earn through mabanga

Thanks Archos.

clearly yes,nowadays artists can earn as much on selling a song to a rich donor as what they earn through sales,downloads and so on of a whole album which is why artists have increased the number of songs,since they are in self production mode for most, what they spend to record is a lit bit inferior to what they earn through mabanga

If you think about it Mabanga and song given to domors are two of the smartest way to make money. Wheter the song is a flop or not you are already being paid

@Manzambi94

But excessive mabanga can ruins songs

back in the days when Papa Wemba and King Kester Emeneya were living Kinshasa in 80s it was not very lucrative. They were doing mabanga and songs just for some expensive clothes. In 70s alot of songs were just done for free. In late 80s they started to get some money for it if they went to Europe, but not alot like these days. It came more lucrative when those Bana Lunda entered the game (Tchatcho Mbala, Wabelo Rango, etc.). 

Papa Wemba was a kind of broke in his first years living in Paris (1987-1989), so in Modogo's album Place Vendome they started to look for mabanga customers, starting in that song to sing sentences of people's name, but without going outside the subject of the song what we see nowadays or adding a new subject in the same song.



from 5:09 min.

I watched a King Kester Emeneya interview where he says the mabanga phenomena as we know it today began with this song for Willo Mondo.

How true is it?

@Manzambi I think it's a smart way too but again I think as an artist, you have to be creative in the way you mention the names or the song will be boring. Like the names have to rhyme with the other lyrics in a song. And yeah excess mabanga is not good.

So what really happens for the song owners if the song turns out to be a flop? Am sure there should some reparations one way or another. Do the song owners have a pre-recording listen to the song or its up to the musician to chose the best song for this or that donor? I have noticed that the likes of Tabou Fatou have some nice songs to their name whether be it by Ferre, Fally or JB Mpiana etc.

I watched a King Kester Emeneya interview where he says the mabanga phenomena as we know it today began with this song for Willo Mondo.

How true is it?

@Manzambi I think it's a smart way too but again I think as an artist, you have to be creative in the way you mention the names or the song will be boring. Like the names have to rhyme with the other lyrics in a song. And yeah excess mabanga is not good.

So what really happens for the song owners if the song turns out to be a flop? Am sure there should some reparations one way or another. Do the song owners have a pre-recording listen to the song or its up to the musician to chose the best song for this or that donor? I have noticed that the likes of Tabou Fatou have some nice songs to their name whether be it by Ferre, Fally or JB Mpiana etc.

yeah its true. Mabanga already started in 70s with Soki Brothers and Zaiko, but it was then that they were giving to 3 people in a whole song. For example when Papa Wemba just started Viva La Muisca he would gave in a song Ebale Mbonge only shout-out (which was then Koffi Olomide "Olomide!!!!"). The mabanga (citing like more than 10/20 people in a song) started with King Kester Emeneya in 1985 with the Willo Mondo-album when he met guys like Anicet Pedro (RIP), Modogo Gianfranco Ferre, etc. in Paris, also known as "Bana Firenze", they gave him then alot of clothes. I think that it was the same trip when he came back with his "pomper injection-car" (a red bmw).



The same Emeneya came with that style of singing names from 5:13 min. JB Mpiana copied that vocal but I forgot in which song. 

The zero kilometre BMW he liked talking about? Lol