It’s a shame that Emeneya didn’t perform at Bercy. He was like Papa Wemba & Koffi Olomidé a big icon for our music. Many artists followed his style, way of walking, speaking and singing. Many were also inspired by him. With the succes of Zénith and Olympia in 2001 & 2002, you would except that there would be a follow in 2003 or 2004.. But Emeneya sadly took ages to release his solo-album and only making interviews to talk about Papa Wemba & Koffi Olomidé and his past in Viva la Musica, instead staying calm. On the back of Emeneya’s VHS of his Zénith show, you see them already talk about a Bercy for 2002.





When returning to Kinshasa in 2003, he made several interviews saying that working on his album “Avantage ya Goal Average”, when explaining the album title, he said that Victoria Eleison since it’s creation saw the music-scene as football competition and them having the advantage of having average goals. Because they went to Japan & Sourh Corea, which many Congolese bands hadn’t done and they already did Olympia and Zénith, so it’s only Bercy left to win the competition.



The crazy thing is that the whole singing-section that backed Emeneya for Zénith & Olympia all left except Pompom Miyake. But luckily, most of them weren’t really known, except Pompom & Guejo Star, because being newly recruited musicians after that the team of Guy Moller and co left. Next to it
singers like Spino La Djatence, Zoe Bella and Sweet Elysee returned. You had also new talented musicians Yannick Zénith, Gianni Mangoma and Didiero Bass who got recruited just before Zénith but didn’t a visa. Imagine Bercy with that team,  the dance “Enterrement” that took Kinshasa by storm in 2003 with the songs we heard later on Jour le Plus Long (La Reine de Fleur, Face à Face, Didi, Eko Force & Nazeli Nazeli) and the shegues that created Enterrement.












Emeneya’s concerts of Zénith & Olympia were voted by ACMCO as best  concerts of the year 2001 & 2002 with concerts in Europe started to be in decline from 2003, I wonder how it would have been if Emeneya’s Bercy happened. Imagine Vieux Kester bragging about his Bercy like the way he did about his Olynpia until his death that they never wrote the name of Congolese artists in front of the hall and him being the only Congolese artist to have that privilege (this was pissing Koffi seriously off in private). In another interview that he made with Gaspar Love said that he was the chief of all Congolese artists (Koffi, Papa Wemba, Wazekwa, Adolphe, Bozi, Tshala Muana, Mbilia Bel, Nyoka Longo, etc.), because of Tabu Ley giving him the blessing and saying that he gave him all his power at Olympia and then mocking Papa Wemba & Koffi for having done mpiaka at Zénith in ‘03, calling the Zénith of Wemba “Zénith ya batu ba telema kaka”, while he sold it out although not being in spotlights at that moment.

It’s a shame that Emeneya didn’t perform at Bercy. He was like Papa Wemba & Koffi Olomidé a big icon for our music. Many artists followed his style, way of walking, speaking and singing. Many were also inspired by him. With the succes of Zénith and Olympia in 2001 & 2002, you would except that there would be a follow in 2003 or 2004.. But Emeneya sadly took ages to release his solo-album and only making interviews to talk about Papa Wemba & Koffi Olomidé and his past in Viva la Musica, instead staying calm. On the back of Emeneya’s VHS of his Zénith show, you see them already talk about a Bercy for 2002.





When returning to Kinshasa in 2003, he made several interviews saying that working on his album “Avantage ya Goal Average”, when explaining the album title, he said that Victoria Eleison since it’s creation saw the music-scene as football competition and them having the advantage of having average goals. Because they went to Japan & Sourh Corea, which many Congolese bands hadn’t done and they already did Olympia and Zénith, so it’s only Bercy left to win the competition.



The crazy thing is that the whole singing-section that backed Emeneya for Zénith & Olympia all left except Pompom Miyake. But luckily, most of them weren’t really known, except Pompom & Guejo Star, because being newly recruited musicians after that the team of Guy Moller and co left. Next to it
singers like Spino La Djatence, Zoe Bella and Sweet Elysee returned. You had also new talented musicians Yannick Zénith, Gianni Mangoma and Didiero Bass who got recruited just before Zénith but didn’t a visa. Imagine Bercy with that team,  the dance “Enterrement” that took Kinshasa by storm in 2003 with the songs we heard later on Jour le Plus Long (La Reine de Fleur, Face à Face, Didi, Eko Force & Nazeli Nazeli) and the shegues that created Enterrement.












Emeneya’s concerts of Zénith & Olympia were voted by ACMCO as best  concerts of the year 2001 & 2002 with concerts in Europe started to be in decline from 2003, I wonder how it would have been if Emeneya’s Bercy happened. Imagine Vieux Kester bragging about his Bercy like the way he did about his Olynpia until his death that they never wrote the name of Congolese artists in front of the hall and him being the only Congolese artist to have that privilege (this was pissing Koffi seriously off in private). In another interview that he made with Gaspar Love said that he was the chief of all Congolese artists (Koffi, Papa Wemba, Wazekwa, Adolphe, Bozi, Tshala Muana, Mbilia Bel, Nyoka Longo, etc.), because of Tabu Ley giving him the blessing and saying that he gave him all his power at Olympia and then mocking Papa Wemba & Koffi for having done mpiaka at Zénith in ‘03, calling the Zénith of Wemba “Zénith ya batu ba telema kaka”, while he sold it out although not being in spotlights at that moment.

Were the mpiaka of 2003 a surprise to Koffi and Wemba? Wouldn't there staff had felt a lack of enthusiasm in the days approaching the concerts? I'm guessing the ground game wasn't strong like before with aggressive fan clubs and posters being distributed.

I don't know. Both guys already had sold out Zenith twice in their previous events over there.

I think that Koffi's first Zenith of 2003 not selling out was no surprise, because it was the last concert of the tour and everybody in Europe had already seen Quartier Latin. Next to it, people were also mad that he announced his show at Zenith, while Papa Wemba gotarrested. But nobody said anything about Zaiko performing at Cabaret Sauvage (which is next to Zenith) the week after it, to present their new album Eureka that released two months prior tot the event. It also important to note that Congolese music was on his decline and people less being less tented to go to concerts, also to step towards the euro (franc francais, franc belge, florin, deutch mark, etc. all getting replaced),the rise of pastors like Denis Lessie, Sony Kafuta and co. along with the Coupe-Decale revolution.

I don't know. Both guys already had sold out Zenith twice in their previous events over there.

I think that Koffi's first Zenith of 2003 not selling out was no surprise, because it was the last concert of the tour and everybody in Europe had already seen Quartier Latin. Next to it, people were also mad that he announced his show at Zenith, while Papa Wemba gotarrested. But nobody said anything about Zaiko performing at Cabaret Sauvage (which is next to Zenith) the week after it, to present their new album Eureka that released two months prior tot the event. It also important to note that Congolese music was on his decline and people less being less tented to go to concerts, also to step towards the euro (franc francais, franc belge, florin, deutch mark, etc. all getting replaced),the rise of pastors like Denis Lessie, Sony Kafuta and co. along with the Coupe-Decale revolution.

If I'm not mistaken, don't Congolese artist start their Euro tour with the large venues first? Like Koffi did with Bercy in 1999, Zenith in 1998, and Werrason of Zenith 2002? Usually, the "weakest" performances are the last couple dates because they're tired from multiple cities and recording the album. But you make a good point about the decline, I wonder if there was anything artist could have done to prevent the fast decline. It was weird how much we dominated African music but came to a fast decline around Wemba's arrest. I personally think that the donors and fanclubs had a huge grudge against the artist for failed promises and other scandals, plus your theory of other genres becoming quickly popular

Normally yes. But Koffi Olomide didn’t start with Zenith in 1998. He started the tour of 1998 with a show at La Madeleine, which was like a test for his Olympia, where performed the following week. Because of the Olympia-show already being selling out and many people still looking for tickets, the director of Sonodisc started printing papers the same day about Koffi performing at Zenith de Paris on November the 7th and the team taking a cloth, to spay with graffiti ¨le 7 november au Zenith” and them putting it on the wall of Olympia. Later on they signed with Constant Lomata a contract to perform at Zenith de Paris. The show at Zenith was a great show and like Olympia, kind of a victory for African music in France. During he show at Zenith they would announce an event at Bercy for 1999, which would be february 2000. Both shows brought Koffi Olomide to another dimension.



The same for Papa Wemba’s Zenith of 2000. They started with La Madeleine and them the following performing at Zenith de Paris. It was either the show was postponed from April to June the 3th or them testing the atmosphere, since that departure of Bendo, Ramazani & Pompom made the public doubt a bit about Nouvelle Ecriture. Because I remember Papa Wemba of 2000 saying that they were planning a show at Zenith de Paris for April 2000 and Congolese usually take a break for a month after performing at a large venue, to start the Europe-tour. Badive would praise JB Mpiana for having performed at Elysee Montmarte, one the week after having done Bercy and starting the Euro-America tour straight away. Throwing shots at Congolese artists that they also wait 1 month to start the tour, not knowing that Koffi performed in Geneva, the week after Olympia.




King Kester Emeneya started his tour of 2008, with a show in Amiens, which a small city in the northern part of France, before Olympia. He did that because the concertpromoter came from there and required it on the contract, them inviting Olivier Tshimanga and Josky Kiambukuta. Many Victoria fans found it weird and were totally against.



It is that Congolese bandleaders receive contracts from different European cities where Congolese people are living (Copenhagen, Malmo, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Rome, Lisboa, etc.) and ¨batu ya province (Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Rennes, Bordeaux etc.) + those Belgian cities, after doing those large venues, them going there after having done Brussels, London and Geneva. The artists then finish the tour with farewell concerts in Paris with a hall of a 1500-1000 capacity and one in Brussels to return back to Kinshasa, or sometimes start a short African tour of 4 or 5 dates before returning home.

But back to the topic. Emeneya team was looking for years for someone to bring him to Bercy and Emeneya had made noise for years about performing at Bercy. Do y´all think it would have been better for Emeneya to ask the concert promoter who brought him to Olympia in 2008 to take him to Bercy instead? Like the WMM staff did with Monsieur Yann, who originally wanted to bring Werrason to Forest National, but because they insisted on Bercy, them ended up performing there.

Also do y'all think that Emeneya would have a chance to sell Bercy out in 2008 with all difficulties Congolese music had at that time (in terms of popularity for concerts, etc.)