Kanda Bongo Man

Bongo Kanda (born 1 January 1955), better known by his stage name Kanda Bongo Man, is a Congolese soukous musician and singer. His career debuted in 1973 when he became the singer for the Belle Mambo band, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Ley. His solo career only started to take off after he moved to Paris in 1979, where his music started to incorporate elements of then-vibrant zouk music popularized by Kassav (originating in the French West Indies). His first solo albums, Iyole in 1981 and Djessy in 1982, were hits. He is known for the structural changes he implemented to soukous music. The previous approach was to sing several verses and have one guitar solo at the end of the song. Kanda Bongo Man revolutionized soukous by encouraging guitar solos after every verse and even sometimes at the beginning of the song. His form of soukous gave birth to the kwassa kwassa dance rhythm where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips. Like many African rumba and soukous musicians before him, Kanda Bongo Man also had an entourage of musicians. Many of Kanda's musicians later moved on to start their own solo careers. Most notable of these was Diblo Dibala. Known as "Machine Gun," blo Dibala was a vital part of Kanda Bongo Man's lineup on several albums, playing guitar on both Kwasa Kwasa and Amour Fou. Kanda Bongo Man still tours in Europe and the United States. In July 2005, he performed at the LIVE 8: Africa Calling concert in Cornwall. He has performed several times at the Africa Oyé Festival in Liverpool, most recently in June 2022.

UMBA - 2023-10-10T00:00:00.000000Z

DELIVER - 2023-10-07T00:00:00.000000Z

Kekete bue - 2022-01-28T00:00:00.000000Z

Made in Africa - 2021-07-14T00:00:00.000000Z

Live in Concert - Yolele! - 2021-07-10T00:00:00.000000Z

Live - 2019-09-13T00:00:00.000000Z

Ultimate Soukous - 2018-10-31T00:00:00.000000Z

Best - 2018-10-26T00:00:00.000000Z

Non-stop Feeling - 2018-10-18T00:00:00.000000Z

Soukous African Soul - 2018-10-18T00:00:00.000000Z

Le rendez-vous des stades - 2018-10-16T00:00:00.000000Z

Sai-Liza - 2018-10-16T00:00:00.000000Z

Sweet - 2018-10-16T00:00:00.000000Z

Live at the Emperors Palace Johannesburg - 2015-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Francophonix - 2009-07-21T00:00:00.000000Z

Soukous time - 2008-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Celebration! the Official Album of New Year's Eve in Time Square - 2006-04-24T00:00:00.000000Z

Soukouss Gold - 2004-11-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Les Pépites du Zouk - 1999-09-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Welcome to South Africa - 1995-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Quoi ça ? - 1994-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Soukous In Central Park - 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Sana - 1992-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Zing Zong - 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Kwassa Kwassa - 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z