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Kanda Bongo Man, born Bongo Kanda in 1955 in Inongo (Belgian Congo, now Democratic Republic of Congo), is a Congolese soukous musician
Biography
Kanda Bongo Man became the lead singer of the Belle Mambo Orchestra in 1973, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Ley. His solo career, however, began only after his arrival in Paris in 1979, where his music integrates the zouk (a musical genre originating from the French Antilles). His first solo albums, Iyole released in 1981 and Djessy in 1982, are then hits.
He is known for altering the structure of the soukous musical style. The previous approach was to sing several verses to finish the song with a guitar solo. Kanda Bongo Man revolves[ref. necessary] the genre of encouraging guitar solos after every verse but sometimes also at the beginning of a song. This gives birth to the kwasa kwasa dance rhythm where the hips move forward and backward, while the hands move following the hips.
Kanda Bongo Man surrounded himself with many musicians. Among his, many had solo careers. This was the case of Diblo Dibala, known as Machine Gun. Diblo Dabala was an essential element of Kanda Bongo Man's musical entourage for which he collaborated on several records, including Kwasa Kwasa and Crazy Love.
Kanda Bongo Man has toured several Europe and the United States. In July 2005, he participated in the Live 8 concert.
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