Today, it’s 23 years ago that JB Mpiana perfomed at Bercy.
Background;
Between September 2000 and Mars 2001, JB Mpiana toured in Europe and Canada with his band Wenge BCBG, giving more than 30 shows. It was the first time that a Kinshasa-based band would give that much of concerts when touring in Europe, they also became the first Kinshasa band that performed in Ireland. In the same period they started recording the album Internet “Mbwa aswi Mbwa” (a dog bites a dog), to refer to the conflict of Werra and Adolphe, but it got quickly changed into Internet, after JB and Adolphe reconciled in Kinshasa. Enjoying still success with Feux de l’Amour in African countries like Ivory Coast, Guinee, Mali, Niger and Benin. JB Mpiana received a lucrative contract to record a remix album of Feux de l’Amour, being more based on the sebenes. But the producer changed his mind, when JB Mpiana came back with exorbitant demands.
During the tour there were talks about an event at Bercy for the next Europe tour. Towards the end of the tour, they picked September 22th as date. The event got announced, when JB Mpiana performed at Elysee Montmartre. However, the announcement created anger in the camp of Papa Wemba. When Nouvelle Ecriture returned back to Kinshasa from their Zenith/Olympia tour, they were making noise about performing at Madison Square Garden the following tour. But after the release of A La Une, they received a contract for Bercy and picked a date. They started already a bit promoting the show, but the concert promoter had not paid the deposit yet. So when seeing Wenge BCBG taking the date, it created a lot of polemic and behind the scenes a cold war starting between JB Mpiana and Papa Wemba. But Papa Wemba would always deny it in the press, when being asked if there was a beef going on.
When touring in Europe, rumors were spread that JB Mpiana went on exil and wouldn’t return back to Kinshasa. When being asked about it, he would always refute those claims, but some people were still doubting. In March 2001, he finally returned back and received a triumphal welcome. Upon his return, JB Mpiana would become representative of ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). He gave a VIP-concert Grand Hotel de Kinshasa, but saw his event at Stade des Martyrs what was planned the day before, getting cancelled. He also signed a lucrative contract with brewery Bralima (Primus). In meantime different cassettes would get released to promote his event of Bercy. (Metro pour Bercy, Taxi pour Bercy, Bercy a la trottinette, etc.). Fans would also create dollar-bills with JB Mpiana’s face and the Bercy-date and t-shirts.
Still having succes with TH, JB Mpiana would give concerts in Zimbabwe, Tchad, Zambia, Congo Brazzaville and Congolese cities like Lubumbashi, Kassumbalesa, Mbuji Mayi and Tshikapa.
When talking in interviews about his upcoming show, JB Mpiana said that he would come with different things (firework, professional stage, etc.) and that he would correct Bercy, the spokesmen of BCBG sharing the same words and coming with the term “Bic Rouge” (red pen). Instead of angering the Maison Mère-camp, it was Quartier Latin taking it personally. From then artists of Quartier Latin restarting to throw shots towards JB Mpiana and atalaku CNN coming with cri’s and shots” petit frère banga mutu oyo aleki yo na age, na Mbongo pe nioso. Pesa ye respect” or “Tobeta Olympia, Zénith & Bercy kasi ba corriga té” (which Brigade would use later).
Being busy with the promotion of Bercy. The BCBG camp would at the same also already promotion JB’s upcoming album Chemin de Fer (back then they were doubting between the album names 11ème Commandement and Chemin de Fer) and also with slogans like “l’Homme doit se battre”
When being once asked about JB Mpiana’s Bercy, Werrason would minimize it and say that he would not plan a Fara-Fara, so that his little brother would not have an excuse when he would fail. The Maison Mere-camp would all throws toward, claiming that they would fail anyway at Bercy. Bill even created a cri about it and animate it in concerts. The cri would create some buzz after the Bercy-show and end up in a few A La Que Leu Leu-Tracks.
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In the summer of 2001, Wenge Maison Mere came with the danse Koyimbi-Ko with took Kinshasa by storm. However, Wenge BCBG didn’t sleep and in the same period they came with the dance “Mwana Mobali Asuanaka te”. To prepare Bercy-show, JB Mpiana would contact choreographer Maitre Kembo. When Maitre Kembo came he announced that he was looking for new dancers, which made multiple dancers getting recruited. He also recruited Bibi Sucre, who came from Quartier Latin, but was left behind for Europe-tour. It created problems and Koffi coming with angry phones calls and sended his man to try to attack Maitre Kembo.
With date getting closer, rumors were spread that the concert would get canceled because of not having paid the full amount of desposit on it. When the problem got solved, pro-WMM newspapers would write stuff like “JB Mpiana will perform at Bercy with collected money”.
2 weeks before Bercy, the album Internet got released. The generique flopped and got heavily criticized. People also kind of disappointed by Kilimanjaro who was over-hyped before the release of the album. However the songs were doing it well. Such as Kap Kapita, Tshico Londonien, l’Espoir de Chicago, Love Airlines, Bea Zodeguem, Le Tenant de Titre and Le Duo Paris. Especially the songs Jeannette and Sans te Toucher, who carried the album. Both songs would reach another level of succes after Stade des Martyrs (evenement-Bling Bling) and the release of the Bercy-cassette. Just before the album-release, the videoclip of Jeannette got a première on French tv-channel TV5.
When the 9/11 attacks took place, there were questions if the concert still would take place. At the same time, Al Qaeda came with the information that they would come with terror-attacks in different European cities (Paris, London, Berlin, Brussels, Rome, Amsterdam, Lisboa, etc.). This made the French government decided to come with measures and vigipirate (surveillance and protection of facilities against the risk of terrorist bombing attacks). Although these incidents, Wenge BCBG still managed to come to Europe with a delegation of more than 100 people.
Because of coming a few days before the event, the preparations in Europe didn’t go well. Also there some minor mistakes. For example, in Kinshasa Titina came with the concept of playing the show with two drums like Zaïko used to do in concerts of 1987, but when coming to the hall, there was just 1 drumset. Titina went quick to a musicshop to rent a drum, and the manager saying that he was lucky, because it normally having to do it 1 week in advance, but since that they know him, still allowing it.
Because of the vigipirate, those who didn’t had papers were afraid to go. Bercy was well filled, but wasn’t sold out. Because of many things going wrong behind the scenes, JB Mpiana decided to start the show with a song dedicated to god and a prayer. Years later journalists, Zacharie Bababaswe would reveal that JB Mpiana was afraid to go on stage and that they had to push him. JB Mpiana still managed to put a good show.But because of not having sold out Bercy, he would be attacked and mocked from all sides. Fans were happy about the show, but you also some that said that it didn’t had the same ambiance like that of Werrason and Koffi. French International radio RFI would say the same thing.
During the show there also some drama. JB Mpiana’s ex wife Amida was also present at Bercy and knowing that JB had an affair with dancer Nono Diamants, who would not allow her to dance on tv. While on tv before the show she did some interviews to say that she would stop with dancing and that Bercy-would be her last. There were that Nono didn’t return to Kinshasa after the TH-tour, because of Amida threatening to send people to kill her.
One of the highlights of the show were the PPU’s who finally managed to go to Europe. They arrived the same day of the song along with Ballet Mukulu. They were like 12 singers along with instrumentalist in Kinshasa and them all preparing the show there. But they only came with 5 singers (Yondi Okocha, Didi Kalombo, Djo Lockis, Chickito Mutakatif and Dolin Masengi) and one bass-player (Makossa Police Break) to Europe. JB Mpiana saying that they would record their album, which would become Anti-Terro
JB Mpiana had the singer Josky Kiambukuta of Bana Ok and guitarist Makosso Kindudi as special guest. Josky was in Kinshasa victim of a stroke. He luckily recovered and to help him out, JB Mpiana decided to invite him for Bercy. When the cassette came out, people were not happy about the singing section. Saying that the singers of BCBG didn’t sing Mumune well. There also projects about JB Mpiana singing with Josky on Chemin de Fer. But didn’t happen because JB thought that they would talk about it negatively since that Josky singed a lot of Koffi in the past.
The artist that got praised alot for Bercy, was Titina, because of his way of drummer and the new created drum-partition. Like the previous years, all youngsters would copy the drum-partitions. It would be one of his last shows with Wenge BCBG, after a few concerts with them in Europe, BCBG went to Canada without him. Titina left after being in a bad sphere with his former boss, for inviting Koffi Olomidé to his wedding in Kinshasa and people around JB gossiping that he’s traitor and he wanted to plan something bad about him. There were also stories that he wanted to record his solo album with the Pipiyu’s and green light was already given to him in Kinshasa, but that JB ended up by refusing. Anyway, Titina started recording his album “No Comment” with help from session artists, his old friend Blaise Bula and also Koffi Olomidé, Fally Ipupa and Kerozene. He would also join Quartier Latin shortly after it.
After the show, Koffi Olomidé who was working on Effrakata, was interviewed by journalist Zacharie Bababaswe and when being asked about the concert of JB Mpiana at Bercy, he would throw shots and mock him about not having sold the venue out. This angered the BCBG-camp. As reaction, the musicians of Wenge BCBG would react immediately in Djo-K’s tv-show. The reaction of Wenge BCBG on Koffi’s interview made Quartier Latin quickly respond the following day. The attacks would get released the following month on a VHS called “Les Allies contre Ben Laden” (Allies against Bin Laden) for people living in Europe. People in Kinshasa were already used to insults and artists clashing each other severely on tv. But when the video came out in Europe, it created a shock in the Congolese community. But being used to see people insulting each other openly on tv.
Few weeks before the release of the video, the live-albums (Le Défi Musicale de l’Année and JB Mpiana Seduit le Public) and the cassette (Condamnation) of the Bercy-event came out. Compared to Zénith, which made people change their mind when the cassette came out about the show, the reaction of people about JB’s Bercy were still mixed. Some seeing it as a good show, others not being convinced.
