Papa Wemba

Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba ONH (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (French pronunciation: [papa wɛmba]), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of the most popular musicians of his time in Africa and played an important role in world music. He was also a fashion icon who popularized the Sape look and style through his musical group Viva la Musica, with whom he performed on stages throughout the world.

Papa Wemba's road to fame and prominence began when he joined the music group Zaiko Langa Langa in 1969. This was followed by his success as a founding member both of Isifi Lokole and then Yoka Lokole, along with a short stint as a member of Afrisa International for a few months. During these early stages of his career, he was establishing a style that included traditional Congolese rumba and soukous, infused with traditional African sounds, Caribbean rhythms, rock and soul. But Wemba gained international success and status with his band Viva La Musica, especially after he took them to Paris, France in the early 1980s. It was there that Wemba was able to achieve more of an "eclectic sound" in his work, influenced by western popular music that reflected a European flavor and style, referred to as "Europop." Wemba spoke about this transition in his music during a 2004 interview:

"When I started singing pop music, I left religious music completely. But there was always the influence of religious music on my voice because, with religious music, the minor key always recurs. When I compose songs, I often use the minor key".

On 23 December 1969 Wemba, who was accompanying one of the Mitshio brothers to visit their aunt in Kinshasa, found the band Bel Guide National rehearsing in the backyard. He asked them if he could perform a song for them. He sang an original composition "Désespoir Jules" and impressed the band’s administrators. The next day, Bel Guide National was dissolved by its administration which decided to form (with Wemba as a singer) what-became the influential rock-rumba band Zaïko Langa Langa (ZLL) keeping just two Bel Guide National members: Jossart N'Yoka Longo and Félix Manuaku Waku. He remained with the group for four years.

Papa Wemba (then known as Jules Presley Shungu Wembadio) helped contribute to the success of Zaiko Langa Langa so that, by 1973, it was one of the more successful Congolese groups. By that time, ZLL's shows and performances featured a string of their popular hits, some of them written by Wemba. The latter included "Pauline", "C'est La Vérité", "Chouchouna", and "Liwa Ya Somo".

Zaiko Langa Langa had gained a strong and popular following even in a Congolese musical world that, in those days, was already dominated by various musical acts including Franco Luambo and his band TPOK Jazz, or Tabu Ley Rochereau's various ensembles. ZLL was also vying for an audience with other (at the time) new musical acts such as Bella-Bella and Empire Bakuba.

In December 1974, at the pinnacle of their fame (and just a month after the Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa), Papa Wemba (usually called 'Shungu Wembadio' at this point in his career) along with Evoloko Lay Lay, Mavuela Somo and Bozi Boziana, left Zaiko Langa Langa to establish their own musical ensemble Isifi Lokole. Wemba later claimed that ISIFI was an acronym for "Institut du Savoir Ideologique pour la Formation des Idoles," a claim that has still not been given total credence. In July 1975, Shungu Wembadio officially adopted the soon-to-be-well-known-worldwide name Papa Wemba. The "Papa" (father) part of his name had already been given to him as a traditional and cultural rite because he was his mother's first-born son. But in assuming a new name and public persona, "Papa" was now re-emphasized as an allusion to the demanding family responsibilities that Wemba assumed at very young age, since both parents were now deceased: Wemba's father in 1966, followed by his mother in 1973. Isifi Lokole would only last a year together as a group, with the single "Amazone" (a Wemba composition) as its biggest commercial "hit" record.

In November 1975, Papa Wemba, Mavuela Somo and Bozi Boziana left Isifi Lokole to create the group Yoka Lokole (also known as The Kinshasa's Wa Fania All-Stars). Yoka Lokole contributed to the African pop music wave with their hit songs including "Matembele Bangui", "Lisuma ya Zazu" (Papa Wemba), "Mavuela Sala Keba", and "Bana Kin" (Mavuela Somo).