Djess offers an interesting take behind the Koffi Olomide and Papa Wemba conflict as well as their project Wakeup claiming that was only originally a Koffi Olomide album and how Papa Wemba got dragged into it.

Qui dit vraie ? Everyone comes with his own version about Wake Up.

1) Emeneya first saying that Koffi contacted him to do a duo-album to fight Papa Wemba and years later, saying that it was meant that he and Papa Wemba had to record a duo-album due to the long rivalerly they had in the 1980s and early 1990s, but that Koffi quickly contacted Wemba to avoid the project happening.
2) Wemba's staffmember Auguy Ibanga saying that it was Sonodisc who came with the project since that they were the biggest sellers and stars in their label.
3) Papa Wemba when he was beefing that Koffi contacted him and even kneeled down to ask for forgeviness, but in the late 2000s he said that it was Sonodisc who brought them together.
4) Alain Prince Makaba who said that it was a project around them three Koffi, Wemba and him (We-Ko-P), but that Koffi removed him.

For years I was wondering if Wemba wasn't mad because of the credits, also if he didn't receive 12 from Koffi and he tried to humilate him through the credits and this interview confirmed. However, I have still some doubts. I remember some people claiming that Wemba didn't contribute alot artistically and that Koffi did all the work, due to the credits. Many also considering Wake Up not as duo-album, but more as Koffi project, due to the credits, which led some Viva-fans or those who were against Koffi, saying that a Wemba-Emeneya should come, where both artists would have each 5 songs and not co-written, etc. Because on Wake Up all Koffi songs (except Avion) were fully credited to himself as auter-compositeur, but the songs of Wemba all having either Maika Munan or Philphe Guez as composer and the song Mi-Amor having both Wemba and Koffi as auteur. But on the same time Maika Munan was Wemba's artistic director and one of Wake Up's main brain next to Philphe Guez, Beniko Popolipo and Alain Makaba. Maika was often signing contracts with artists to credit him as composer to get royalties from SACEM, which why on all albums of Wemba he was credited as composer. But some artists refused to write to have it mentioned on the credits pride and them just crediting themselves as auteur-compositeur. So was it Koffi's manipulation or just the contract ? Wemba already had some reputation of buying songs, but when the beef started against Koffi from the Noblesse Oblige-era, some frame was created like Wemba was the only artist that wasn't able write songs, while all artists were buying songs from songwriters, including Koffi himself. The release of Foridoles and Pole Position, made the frame only stronger, because on songs they would credit Wemba as auteur and Maika as composer (if he arranged the song). But the problem in Congo is that many people don't really know the signifance of "compositeur" and for many if you are the composer, you are the person that wrote the song. Because back in the days when they were releasing vinyl they were always writing compositeur instead of auteur-compositeur or simply auteur, while it was wrong (it already started in the colonial era). Artists also saying, when being asked about their songs, them often saying nga mutu na "composaki nzembo oyo".


What Djess said about Wemba having just 4 songs credited to him instead of 6 is true, because I remember late songwriter Wasenga Colombani, when getting interviewed on Congonumber 1 in 2013, saying that he sold 2 songs to them, Wake Up to Koffi and the song Litio ya Calendrier to Papa Wemba. But that he was surprised that the song Litio ya Calendrier was credited Koffi on the credits.

When people close to Wemba are asked how the beef of Koffi against Wemba started, they aren't really able to explain it. All versions that are known are rumors. The one of Koffi openly talking bad about Papa Wemba and Mere Malou getting mad, Koffi started to ignore that Wemba contributed to his career in interviews, the story of Rosette Kamono (but that was just before V12), nobody can really explain it clearly. The same thing about how the tension came after Wake Up, some say that it was about a woman that Wemba dedicated a song to in the Wake-Up, that Koffi slept with her, others say that Wemba was still mad about Koffi not wanting to share the mabanga-money with the incident of them arguing in studio,  Wemba screaming "Tais Toi pauvre commercant" (Emeneya then profiting from the situation to release a cassette to express his anger of not getting a shout-out like all other big artists). Some saying (including Zacharie Bababaswe) that common friends said that Koffi threw a shot towards him in Wake Up-song Moussoukou-soukou by saying "pona kokanga kipungu-pungu il faut kotia soyi",  tried spiritually to challenge him and Wemba feeling on the end betrayed. Others saying that it was because of Koffi talking bad about Wemba everywhere and Wemba becoming mad, attacking him towards the end of the generique Extra Large by saying "Lempicka Béata, yebisa bango, histoire ba changaka te", dancers of Wemba started to attack Koffi's dancers on tv. I hope that someone of Koffi's original staff will reveal it one day to Teddy Mola or Papy Gène. Because all those guys who were with Koffi were sometimes with Wemba or would often report him what Koffi would say about him behind is back.

Koffi is a big songwriter. None of the songs on Wake Up were written by Papa Wemba. Colombani Wasenga co-write Wake Up with Koffi, wrote Litio ya Calendrier, Bogus Bompema wrote Dodo, MaryamTerre Battu, Esakola. Do Akongo wrote Avion, Koffi wrote Musukusuku, Naomi was co-written between Max Mongali and Koffi Olomidé. Mi Amor was given to Papa Wemba by Ricko (the same guy who wrote him Samaritain, Ile de Goree, Mwana'ngo, Deception, Ba Diamant ect). During the Noblesse Oblige era, Koffi co-wrote songs with Felix Wazekwa (Songs like Papa Plus, Kramogo, Miss des Miss, Petite Soeur). Wazekwa voluntarily gave Koffi a cassette with songs and Koffi mixed them with his own writing.

I've never said that Koffi isn't a big songwriter and didn't say that Wazekwa was forced to give songs to Koffi. Koffi is indeed a big songwriter and used to be a ghostwriter for Papa Wemba before starting his singing-career. But from the mid 1980s, he started to buy songs like every other artist, which became more and more in the years that passed by. For example, the majority of the song Mal Aimé wasn't written by Koffi Olomidé, but by the man that used to write songs for Pepe Kalle (Zabolo, etc.). In most cases it are ghostwriters who come volunitary to artists, unless that they reputation is big and artists coming towards when they want to have massive hittracks on their albums. Nobody force ghostwriters to go towards artists.



Lol, you just summarised my answers from other topics about songwriters. In Congolese logic when the artist buy a song, the song automatically belongs to him. When Colombani Wasenga was alive he said that the song Wake-Up was from the begining to the end done by him and not co-written.

I'm very curious, who's this ghostwriter that used write for Pepe Kalle and Koffi in the 80s? Mascotte de Katalas? Idi Mane Mongali? Eldorado?. I wasn't disagreeing with you, I know Koffi buys songs from ghostwriters. An album like BEK is practically entirely ghostwritten with Koffi thanking all of them on the cover.