Today, it’s been 25 years since Werrason performed for the first time at Stade des Martyrs
Background;
Towards the end of 1998, Werrason received unexpected crazy succes from the album 'Force d'Intervention Rapide'. During the split of Wenge 4x4, nobody gave him the chance to succeed, but one ear later Werrason proved everybody wrong. Already just before the release of the album, Werrason started to do wonders. In September '98, an ecent was organized by political party ADFL, called 'Megaconcert'/Tokufa Pona Congo. The event was organized as solifarity for the war that just started against Uganda and Rwanda and almost overthrow Laurent-Desire Kabila in Kinshasa, one month before, if it wasn't the intervention of Angola & Zimbabwe and the local population. All big artists that were in Kinshasa at that moment were invited (Pepe Kalle, King Kester Emeneya, Tshala Muana, Marie Paul, Zaiko, Bana OK, Jolino and Werrason) to sing. When the event ended, Werrason went away with the majority of fans out of the stadium. Werrason wore that day a chasuble which is wore by clergy in catholic church. He would wore the same outfit for the album-cover of Intervention Rapide along with Adolphe Dominguez and Didier Masela. However, there was alot of talks about the entrance that Werrason did along with Marie Paul, by running into the stadium and Marie Paul ending up by falling down. The public interpreted it as Werrason "stealing" Marie Paul's "mystical powers".
Just after the release of Force d'Intervention Rapide, an event was organized called "Gigaconcert" at Stade des Martyrs, as tribute to Pepe Kalle, who just passed away. Like the event "Megaconcert" severeal sartists were invited to perform. It was the first time since it's opening in 1994, that Stade des Martyrs got that packed. When it was time for Werrason to perform, he came in with the same chasuble and when changing clothes, he danced with the outfit he had on the videoclip of Intervention Rapide. It was meant that Werrason would do 2 songs, but because of the mic-sound going off when performing the generique, Werrason decided to leave the stadium when finishing dancing. When leaving the stadium, the public decided to follow him and he left the stadium empty, standing outside the stadium with 120.000 people behind him. The moment was seen as confirmation of Werra's succes. Whenever Werrason would go somewhere in Kinshasa, masses of people would follow him. Because of this success, fans said that it was time to have their own event at Stade des Martyrs and music-promoters started to get interested to organize an event.
2 months later, his rival JB Mpiana announced an event at l’Esplanade de Palais du Peuple. The event was meant, to annonce his show at Zenith, present the Titanic-album and also as acknowledgement for the way his fans welcomed him after the Europe-tour of previous, but JB not being able to do a proper public concert, because of the many contracts he received abroad (African countries) and the war/tensions in Kinshasa that followed just after he arrived. The event organized by Serkas Productions of businessmen Serge Kassanda, was a huge success with the most intense moment being when the public sung Omba with candles on. Because of the success, fans/fanclubs were also talking about a show at Stade des Martyrs meant after Zenith, because of Palais du Peuple being ‘to small’.
In the same period, Wenge Maison Mere received visa’s for UK and Canada, after seeing multiple demands for the Schengen Area seeing rejected the previous year. Looking for a place to do their farewell concert before the tour, they planned an event at l’Esplanade de Palais du Peuple as well, as reception to JB’s event. 2 days, after JB Mpiana’s event, Werrason and Adolphe came on tv, to announce theirs and prove BCBG a point that they were more popular and throwing shots to JB in the add, claiming that the crowd will be that much till Kimpwanza-roundabout in the Kasa-Vubu area.
On March 7th, Werrason once again showed his popularity by having a march with a horse through different areas of Kinshasa with a crowds following him till Palais du Peuple. During the show, people kept coming from everywhere and the national police weren’t able to control it and people started to get ill, fainting, etc. The images that were shown the following day on tv, left people astonished. After the show donors/admins/influent fans started to talk about the vent of Stade des Martyrs, meant as first event after their tour.
The event of Palais du Peuple made Werrason also received contracts for shows in the Schengen Area. However, when arriving they still had difficulties to receive visa’s, seeing their shows in Brussels and Villejuif meant for May 1999, getting cancelled. After a court-case, Wenge Maison Mere finally managed to obtain visa’s for the Schengen Area. The highlights were their show at Palais des Sports and the famous fara-fara against Wenge BCBG, who were performing at Zenith de Paris and Wenge Maison Mere the same day in Paris’ suburb Villejuif.
After spending 7 months abroad and finishing the recordings Solola Bien, it was time to return back. Werrason was already mobilizing his fans in different interviews, after the famous ‘nzela ya zamba’ haircut, he said that it was time for them to have the ‘tour de controle’ haircut and that they had to wear cuffed jeans. He was also already talking about doing an entrance with Helicopter in Stade des Martyrs, saying proudly that he would be the first Congolese artist to do such entrance.
For event, manager Claude Maluma did a co-production with JPS Production to organize it along with a double event at Intercontinental (one vip-concert at Salon Congo and another at the Parking) for the following week. Prices for public event at that time were mostly 5 or 2 Congolese Franc (yeah times have changed, inflation, etc.) but this time, the prices were extremely high. The ticket fee was 15 Congolese Franc. In the weeks prior to the event, different journalists Foshino Ntumba, Mamie Ilela, Yves Kambala, Dieudonné Yangumba,etc. started to promote the event.
The event;
The day that Werrason arrived, he received a triumphal return. He broke the record of his rival that also received a triumphal return the previous year. The number of people receiving him was never that high of when an artist arrives from an Europe-tour. But what made people talk, was Werrason outift, who came as ninja. When getting asked about it later that day, explained that it was to avoid to create havoc of having massive crowds behind him, but it still happened.
When coming to the day of the event, everything went wrong. Werra’s team received an order that they were not allowed to use the helicopter, while they already rented it weeks before and had an official authorization. After an intervention of multiple influent people, he was allowed to use the helicopter, but not as entrance into Stade des Martyrs. After fleeing from Intercontinental, where he was staying, till the Ndolo-airport, he started to walk with Adolphe Dominguez to the stadium with many fans following him. The show was attented by 60.000 spectators, which was the highest amount of crowd set by an artist. At that time solo-artist couldn’t even fill the half of the stadium. Like the event at Palais des Sports, Patient Kusangila who came from Wenge BCBG, would have his ‘exorcism‘ ceremony from pastor Adolphe Dominguez and angel ‘Gabriel’ Werrason. After the ceremony, the show started. However, the show got interrupted by a power-cut, after just performing 4 songs. The shots were fired by guards and Werrason getting escorted by guards/soldiers. It created panic, it also left fans angry and disappointed, because of having paid 15 franc congolais, which was quite expensive at that time. In meantime the money that was collected disappeared, with guards and people working for the event, not being paid. Later in the evening, Elvis Kemayo of JPS Production got arrested at the airport and it was alleged that he tried to escape with the money without paying taxes. The incident created a lot of ‘polemique’. It was the final discord between Claude Maluma and Werrason, who were already in bad terms since he signed with JPS Production. Different cmaps would come with either with pro-maluma or pro-werra stories. The people that worked for the event would still not getting paid.
After the show, the BCBG-camp would get accused for being behind the power cut at Stade des Martyrs. It made the hate against JB Mpiana only grow more. Because was it was not the first time that it happened. During Palais du Peuple, the show was also interrupted by a power-cut for a few hours , before continuing the show. The Maison-Mere promised revenge. 20 years later, Maison Mere’s secretary general Elliot Mondombe reveated that the BCBG-camp didn’t had anything to do with it. He said that it was actually Theophile Mbemba, who was governor of Kinshasa (1997-2001), being behind it (he was pro-werra). Explaining that he did it on purpose, to control the crowds that kept coming from different areas of Kinshasa and started to disrupt the traffic.
from 18:43 images of Werra’s triumphal return, interview at Intercontinental, the event at Stade des Martyrs, interview with Werrason, Patient Kusangila & Ferre at RTNC to talk about the event with some images of his walk towards the stadium
Aftermath;
Although the incident between Claude Maluma and Elvis Kemayo, the concerts at Intercontinental still took place. Werrason also promised a proper event at Stade des Martyrs with a lower price for his fans in the for the following weeks (which would finally be in 2000). After the vip-concerts, Werrason also went to Matadi where he had successful concerts and musicians getting their cars from Europe that arrived in the port of Matadi, returning back with it to Kinshasa. But shortly after it, Jus d’Ete Mulopwe got victim of a serious car-accident, which almost got him killed. To calm down, Werrason requested him to live at his house for a few weeks. Prior to the release of Solola Bien in december, concerts were performed in different areas of Kinshasa. In month november they also went performed in Brazzaville at Stade Massamba Debat, but the concert was not a succes, since that it started rain heavily that day. Because of the succes of Intervention Rapide, his event at Palais du Peuple, Villejuif, Palais des Sports, Werrason would get voted as "Meilleur Vedette de l'Annee" (best star of the year) by ACMCO, Bill Clinton as revelation de l'annee (best breakthrough) and the song Chantal Switserland as best song of the year by ACMCO.
The event of Wenge Maison Mere at Stade des Martyrs, didn’t make Wenge BCBG quite. They also announced their event at Stade des Martyrs for November 20th through spokesman Roger Ngandu and different fanclubs mobilizing their fans for it. (coming soon)
