By Fidelis Manyange
AFRICA’s music talent gained international recognition in the late 1950s through various artistes who went to perform outside Africa culminating in a growing demand for more African performances.
Since then, the continent has been producing musicians who have been successfully performing overseas while others have found permanent residence as artistes or music tutors.
For example, the Zimbabwean duo of Dumi Maraire and Ephat Mujuru were among the first artistes to the mbira instrument overseas and became performers as well as tutors. Other notable artistes, like Stella Chiweshe, Chiwoniso Mararire, Busi Ncube, Black Umfolosi, Jeys Marabini, Thomas Mapfumo, Ther Bhundu Boys and Hope Masike, are among internationally recognised sons and daughters of Africa who took the continent’s music to Europe and other continents. Mapfumo and Chiweshe later became permanent residents in America and Germany, respectively.
Today we have the likes of Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, a Beninese-French singer-songwriter, actress and activist popularly known for her her diverse musical influences and creative music videos, some of which won five Grammy Awards and is a 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate; Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal, who was appointed a UNDP Youth Emissary in 2003; Victorias Falls-based Mokoomba, a six-piece band known for their afro-fusion sound, which blends traditional Tonga rhythms with international pop and pan-African styles like soukous, funk, and reggae have gained international recognition and critical acclaim for their unique music, among others, who have been flying the African flags high.
Before many started finding their way overseas, there are those who introduced music there as early as the 1950s.
One of the first known artistes to carve a niche in France, Belgium and several European countries is the rhumba outfit, African Jazz, which was led by Le Grant Kalle. The group became popular in 1960 after their performance of the track ‘Independence Cha Cha’ during the independence celebrations of the Belgian Congo (now DRC) in Brussels. The song had also made an impact during their performance in 1959 after the group was invited to play for delegates at the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference in Brussels to discuss the political future of the Belgian Congo.
The song was pan-African in its flavour, as evidenced by the lyrics, which are reproduced below:
‘Indépendence cha-cha, tozoui e
Oh! Kimpwanza cha-cha, tubakidi
Oh! Table Ronde cha-cha, ba gagné o
Oh! Dipanda cha-cha tozoui e.
(Independence, cha-cha, we’ve won it
Oh! Independence cha-cha, we’ve achieved it
Oh! The round table cha-cha, we’ve pulled it off
Oh! Independence, cha-cha, we’ve won it . . .’
Their other pan-African hit was ‘Vive Patrice Lumumba’.
Le Grand Kalle and his African Jazz remain the pioneers of African music in Europe.
Another Congo-based artiste who made it big in France is rhumba artiste Sam Mangwana. Mangwana’s father, who was married to an Angolan, was born in Chivi but later migrated to Congo-Kinshasa, later Zaire, whose name has since changed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mangwana’s upbringing in Congo significantly influenced his multi-ethnic musical style. He started his musical career as a member of the popular rhumba artiste Franco Luambo Makiad’s seminal band, TPOK Jazz, before joining Tabuley Rochereau. He later made his debut album in 1963 with the Congo-Kinshasa Rhumba Band. Mangwana extensively toured overseas with his group, churning out popular hits like ‘Canta Mozambique’ and ‘Maria Tebo’, which made an impact in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
He was nicknamed ‘The Pigeon Voyager’ (travelling pigeon) thanks to his penchant for touring different countries for concerts.
Away from the Congo, in Southern Africa emerged Hugh Masekela, a trumpeter, singer, songwriter and pioneer of Jazz in that country.
Masekela was also known for campaigning against apartheid while in exile.
The jazz pioneer lived most of his life in the US where he introduced his own country’s unique rhythms and harmonies.
Masekela was married to fellow music star Miriam Makeba.
He also attended the Manhattan School of Music in New York to boost his career. He travelled throughout Africa in the 1970s, becoming involved in the continent’s diverse music genres and recording five albums with Nigerian performer Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
Masekela was part of Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland World Concert’ which also toured Zimbabwe, and featured the world acclaimed Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Masekela’s wife, Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress and civil rights activist who was associated with musical genres including afro-pop and jazz. Like her husband, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority rule in South Africa.
The music diva is one of the female music pioneers to Western countries.
Nigerian artiste and political activist Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, also known as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, was one of the best artistes to emerge from this continent.
According to ‘Vorso Books’, Fela changed his name in the late 1970s, dropping the surname ‘Ransome’ and replacing it with ‘Anikulapo’, a Yoruba phrase meaning ‘. . . one who has death in his pouch . . .’ or ‘. . . he who carries death in his pouch . . .’
Fela considered the name Ransome to be a ‘. . . slave name’ and preferred the more African-sounding ‘Anikulapo’.
His musical genre was a combination of African music, jazz, American funk as well as blues fused with traditional Yoruba music.
While staying in London, he encountered various musical styles by playing piano jazz and rock bands with his group, Koola Lobitos, thereby popularising afro-jazz in the UK in the mid-1960s. During his tours in the US, he was influenced by the politics of Malcolm X, the Black Panthers and other militants. He exhorted social change in such songs such as ‘Zombie’, ‘Monkey Banana’, ‘Beasts of No Nation’ and ‘Upside Down’, among others.
The firebrand singer, who gyrated over the keyboard as he sang in English and Yoruba, struck a chord among the unemployed, disadvantaged and the oppressed. His music and life is still fascinating and popular worldwide.
Another African artiste, who, like Kuti, fused jazz, funk and his country’s traditional music is Cameroonian and saxophonist Emanuel N’Dyoko Dibango, known as Manu Dibango. He was best known, internationally, for his hit song ‘Soul Makossa’, which has been referred to as the most sampled African song in 1972 and he was also referred to as the most sampled African musician in history in the 1970s. Dibango succumbed to COVID-19 on March 24 2020. Dibango, who achieved a considerable following in the UK with his hit song, ‘Big Blow’, also collaborated with other African artistes, like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Ade, Dony Cherry and Fela Kuti, among others.
At the 116th Annual Grammy Awards, he was nominated in the categories of Best R ‘n’B instrumental performance and best instrumental composition for ‘Soul Makossa’. The song influenced popular music hits, including Kool and the Gang’s ‘Jungle Boogie’. He was appointed a UNESCO Artiste for Peace in 2004. His song ‘Reggae Makosasa’ featured on the soundtrack to the 2006 video game ‘Scarface: The World is Yours’.
In 2009, he played the closing concert at the Revived Brecon Jazz Festival.
Dibango’s song, ‘New Bell’, featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 video game, ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’, on the radio station International Funk 99.
In 1982, Michael Jackson used the ‘Mama-se, mama-so, mama-kossa’ hook from Dibango’s 1972 single ‘Soul Makossa’ without his permission and credit for his 1983 song ‘Wanna Be Starting Something’ from his super hit album ‘Thriller’. When Dibango found out, he confronted Jackson and they agreed on an out-of-court settlement.
In 2007, Rihanna couldn’t resist the temptation of Dibango’s same song for her track. Jackson had given permission to Rihanna without prior permission from Dibango and he sued both of them for 500 000 British pounds.
In July 2014, Dibango performed at the 80th birthday concert at the Olympia in Paris which was broadcast by TV5.
On September 8 2015, Michaëlle Jean, secretary-general of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, honoured Dibango with the title of ‘Grand Témoin de la Francophonie aux Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de Rio 2016’.
Like Jackson and Rihanna, Shakira plagiarised the Cameroonian group Zangalewa’s song ‘Zangalewa’ beat and lyrics which he renamed ‘Waka Waka’. This was also the theme song of the FIFA 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Zangalewa were later compensated by Sony and Shakira after they had lodged a complaint.
Zangalewa is a Cameroonian group, formerly known as Golden Sounds, which consisted of members of the Cameroonian Presidential Guard and the chorus of the song ‘Zangalewa’ is said to come from the country’s sharp-shooters who had created a slang for better communication between themselves during the Second World War. The song and the video, which became popular on ZBC-TV’s ‘Mutinhimira Wemumhanzi/Ezomgido’ during the 1990s, tells a story of a black soldier (sellout) who had collaborated with oppressive officers. The group became very popular in Colombia after it was introduced by West African DJs in Barranquilla and Cartagena.
‘Sweet Mother’ is an all-time song which earned Nigerian artiste Prince Nico Mbarga international recognition. The song, sang in pidgin English, was released in 1976 as a celebration of motherhood. ‘Sweet Mother’ became so popular that it was used in the Brazilian television film ‘Doce de Mãe’ (Sweet Mother).
The track, ‘Africa’, renditioned by Salif Keita, became popular on ZTV’s ‘Afro Beat’. Keita, born in Mali, is known internationally for blending a range of African sounds with jazz, rhythm and blues as well as other international popular music styles to pioneer the afro-pop dance-music genre. The musician, regarded as ‘The Golden Voice of Africa’, was conferred with the ‘National Order of Guinea’, a prestigious honour by then Guinean President Sekou Toure in 1977.
Keita’s stardom became manifest in his early recordings. Now, five Grammy nominations and a record 75 albums later, he has also won the Joe Zawinul production AMEN (Island Records 1991), TALÉ (Universal Music France 2012) and the latest UN OTRE BLANC (Naïve 2018).
His legacy to African music history is indisputable.
Keita owns an island called Djataland, located on the Niger River.
South African music diva Brenda Nokuzola Fassie, named after the American country singer Brenda Lee, is one of the continent’s top female artistes who made it big overseas.
The musician, who made her name with her debut single ‘Weekend Special’, which became an instant hit and fastest-selling record of that time, toured the US, the UK, Europe, Australia and Brazil with her band the Big Dudes where her music was already a hit.
The album ‘Too Late for Mama’ achieved Platinum status in 1989.
Fassie received the Kora Award for the best female artiste in 1999.
In 2001, Time Magazine featured a three-page special on Brenda, calling her ‘The Madonna of the Townships’, ample proof of her international popularity.
Lucky Dube is another musician from South Africa who raised the African flag high overseas. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube sang about issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general.
He used his reggae music as a platform to promote racial equality within South Africa during apartheid. He used the genre to frame arguments about colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
He recorded 22 albums in a 25-year musical span and was Africa’s best-selling reggae artiste of all time.
Drawing inspiration from Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, his music resonated with the socio-political situation in South Africa then.
The ‘I am a Prisoner’ hitmaker toured extensively, sharing the stage with popular artistes like Sinead O’Connor, Peter Gabriel and Sting and also featured at the 1991 Reggae Sun splash.
In Australia, Dube’s music found resonance in remote Aboriginal communities, and his popularity earned the moniker ‘Bigger than the Beatles’ throughout much of central and northern Australia.
The late Oliver Mtukudzi made it big internationally as he toured many countries. The ‘Tozeza Baba’ hitmaker earned international recognition after engaging Debbie Metcalfe. She is credited for resuscitating Tuku’s music career at the turn of the new millennium before her unceremonious departure in 2008.
His album ‘Tuku Music’, released in 1999 under Metcalfe’s management, became an instant hit which earned him international recognition till his demise from diabetes complications in 2019.
Prior to independence, Mtukudzi’s music depicted the suffering of blacks under the racist white minority, while after independence, his music advocated tolerance as well as highlighting the struggles of women and children.
Like other local artistes who got permanent residence overseas, like Mapfumo and Chiweshe, Rozalla Miller, one of Zimbabwe’s music divas, moved to the UK in 1988, where she became successful. Her career took off after she began working with Chris Sergeant and the Band of Gypsies.
Born in Zambia, the diva later relocated to Zimbabwe. Her popularity soared when she toured with Michael Jackson, curtain-raising for his shows on the European leg of his ‘Dangerous’ Tour. This was quite unprecedented for an African let alone a Zimbabwean, who, only a few years back, was trying to make a name for herself singing in clubs.
The Bhundu Boys, fronted by Biggie Tembo, made a name for themselves overseas when they performed at Wembley Stadium in 1987.
The ‘Jekanyika’ hitmakers warmed the stage for Madonna at Wembley Stadium as part of her tour. They also made history by becoming the first Zimbabwean band to perform in the UK.
Mapfumo’s song ‘Hokoyo’, which he released in 1978 with his Acid Band, dominated Africa and the UK charts to rate among the 25 African songs of the 1970s.
However, Mapfumo, along the way, became a turncoat to the extent of singing ‘Everything is Big in America’, thereby denouncing his Africanness.
He lost it.
Today’s crop of African artistes, who include the likes of Jah Prayzah, Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tyla and D’banj, among others, are achieving international recognition and mainstream success because their music resonates with the people’s aspirations.
But, as we always say, it is popular culture and winds of change always shift!