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Perullo, Rumba in the City of Peace 1 MIGRATION AND THE CULTURAL COMMODITY OF CONGOLESE MUSIC IN DAR ES SALAAM, 1975-1985 Alex Perullo Bryan University [email protected] August 2007 Migration Studies Working Paper Series #34 Forced Migration Studies Programme University of the Witwatersrand http://migration.wits.ac.za

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Perullo, Rumba in the City of Peace 1

MIGRATION AND THE CULTURAL COMMODITY OF CONGOLESE MUSIC IN DAR ES SALAAM, 1975-1985

Alex Perullo Bryan University [email protected]

August 2007

Migration Studies Working Paper Series #34

Forced Migration Studies Programme University of the Witwatersrand

http://migration.wits.ac.za

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Perullo, Rumba in the City of Peace 2

Migration Studies Working Paper Series

This series provides a forum for researchers to publish preliminary findings on themes related to

migration and displacement in Africa. These papers may be cited (including the full URL and the date

downloaded), but reproduced only with direct permission of the author. Submissions are welcome by

email (MS Word format) sent to the series editor: [email protected]. Authors whose work is

included here are encouraged to resubmit papers for publication elsewhere.

The ten most recent papers are:

• Working Paper #33

L.B. Landau and Tamlyn Monson, Immigration, Sovereignty, and Power in South African Cities

• Working Paper #32 L.B. Landau and Iriann Haupt, Tactical Cosmopolitanism and Idioms of Belonging

• Working Paper #31 L. Smith, A Home in the City: Transnational Investments in Urban Housing

• Working Paper #30

L.B. Landau, Reconsidering Inclusion in Africa’s Cities of Shifting Sands

• Working Paper #29 L.B. Landau, Protection as Capability Expansion: Practical Ethics for Assisting Urban Refugees

• Working Paper #28

D. Vigneswaran, In Direct Control?: Territorial Exclusion of Migrants in South Africa 1998-2004

• Working Paper #27

K. Mathers and L.B. Landau, Tourists or Makwerekwere: Good Versus Bad Visitors and the Possibilities of Ethical Tourism in South Africa

• Working Paper #26 L.B. Landau, Shaping Urban Futures: Human Mobility and Poverty in Africa's Globalising Cities

• Working Paper #25

C. Kihato and L.B. Landau, The Uncaptured Urbanite: Migration and State Power in Johannesburg

• Working Paper #24

Darshan Vigneswaran, The Importance of Place in Understanding City-State Territoriality

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Perullo, Rumba in the City of Peace 3

MIGRATION AND THE CULTURAL COMMODITY OF CONGOLESE MUSIC IN DAR ES SALAAM, 1975-1985

Alex Perullo

The period from 1975 to 1985 is often regarded as one of the classic periods of Tanzanian

popular music. It was during this decade that some of the country’s most highly regarded and popular

artists established their reputations in the country, particularly in Dar es Salaam. A significant reason for

the success of popular music in Tanzania during this time is the migration of numerous Congolese artists

to Dar es Salaam. These artists formed groups, such as Orchestra Makassy, Orchestra Maquis, Orchestra

Safari Sound, Super Matimila, and King Kiki and Double ‘O’, which brought a heightened sense of

professionalism and credibility to the music scene. Since Congolese music was one of the most popular

forms of music on the continent, the artists could easily draw attention to a local music scene by

performing “authentic” Congolese music which many other bands, including those in Dar es Salaam,

attempted to emulate.

During the early 1970s, several other cities, such as Nairobi, Lusaka, and Kinshasa, had much

larger music scenes with record companies and private recording studios. These cities also had more

viable performance spaces with affluent clientele and better access to instruments. Tanzania, in contrast,

moved toward socialism in the late 1960s and the government controlled most aspects of the music scene,

including the ownership of many bands. Given the popularity of Congolese music in eastern and central

Africa, why did so many Congolese musicians decided to move to Tanzania? Why would they choose

Dar es Salaam over Nairobi, Kinshasa, Lusaka, or even other cities on the continent? And, what made

them stay in the city, most as permanent residents, long after the “golden years” of Tanzanian dance

music ended?

In this paper, I argue that Tanzania became an attractive option for many Congolese artists,

particularly those from the Katanga and Kivu regions, due to a series of political and economic events that

altered the viability of living and performing in other areas of eastern and central Africa. The violence

that erupted in the eastern Congo during the 1960s and late 1970s, Zairinization, the rise and fall of Idi

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Amin in Uganda, and the closing of the border with Kenya in the late 1970s created a narrow region

within which artists could work and travel. Due to these political and economic events, most other cities

were considered poor options compared to Dar es Salaam, which in the popular discourses circulating

among Congolese artists had come to be regarded as stable, peaceful, and potentially profitable. There

was no ethnic violence, political instability, or territorial disputes that overwhelmed daily life in the

country, although the implementation of socialism certainly created significant transformations. Further,

many bands who worked in Tanzania during the late 1970s and early 1980s were able to find steady

salaries under government institutions or within private bands that catered to the cities rapidly growing

population. Even though Tanzania’s socialism impinged on artists’ abilities to freely perform and

compose music, the city offered temporary political and economic solace in ways that other neighboring

cities could not.

Of course, Congolese artists move to Tanzania only explains the context of migration. How did

these artists find a relatively welcome audience in Dar es Salaam, particularly during a period of

socialism when the country aimed to establish an indigenous musical sound? I argue that the popularity of

the Congolese sound and claims to “authenticity” provided Congolese artists a great deal of authority and

power in traveling throughout the continent. The cultural capital provided by both their music and

nationality gave Congolese artists an edge in using their sound and identity as a commodity within

emerging African metropolises. This allowed the artists to move to most neighboring cities and find

success given that they could cater to a “ready-made” audience already eager to hear the lyrical guitar

lines and the dance beats of the sebene. Obviously, artists from other countries also toured eastern and

central Africa, but never to the extent of Congolese artists. Few Tanzanian musicians, for instance,

attempted to perform let alone live in the Congo, while around 150-250 Congolese artists moved to Dar

es Salaam after independence in the 1960s.1 Through the establishment of musical authority, authenticity,

professionalism, and networking, Congolese artists created a significant opportunity for migration to

Tanzanian as well as other areas of the continent. Their music acted as a form power, a useful commodity 1 This number is based on interviews with Congolese and Tanzanian musicians.

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that could be altered and shaped to fit different contexts, and still carry tremendous authority and

influence.

The majority of musicians who moved to Dar es Salaam from the Congo were from the Katanga

and Kivu regions. They often moved from one city to another in search of work, but rarely spent a great

deal of time in one place. Their lifestyles were, therefore, flexible and transitory, moving to where

presumed opportunities existed. They often spoke Kiswahili, which allowed them to enter into a number

of music scenes in East Africa without linguistic problems, and Lingala, the language of Congolese music

and recognized by many audiences for the power in conveys in song.2

In addition to linguistic competence, Kantanga and Kivu regions were also known for the musical

ability of the area’s musicians. The numerous religious institutions in the area gave many artists musical

training in site reading, composition, and performance. These skills were often acknowledged by those

interviewed for this project as distinct advantages since they were often codified as bringing competence,

originality, and “cleanliness” to the music. The regions musicians were also known for their performance

ability. John Low states that Katanga was the “power-house of African finger-styles” (Low 1982: 9).

Jean-Bosco Mwenda, Losta Abelo, Edouard Masengo, Ndala Kasheba, Nguza Viking, Kahanga Dekula,

and many other guitarists all came from these regions. Since Congolese music is a guitar based genre,

competency on this instrument gave many artists a distinct advantage in forming groups, moving to other

regions, and attaining a following. The combination of musical training and a legacy of musicianship

created a powerful combination when these artists performed Congolese music throughout the cities of

central Africa.

While Katanga and Kivu were important in influencing the future of Tanzanian sounds,

Congolese music is most often connected with the eastern cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville. These cities

had prominent music scenes that attracted talent from many areas of the two Congos. Local radio stations,

such as Radio-Brazzaville, Radio-AEF, and Radio-Congo, recording studios and record distribution, and

2 All the musicians who migrated to Tanzania, however, mentioned the initial struggles they had in trying to learn “proper” Kiswahili the way it is spoken in Dar es Salaam.

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the emergence of numerous groups creating a distinctive style of music established the two cities as hubs

for musical activity (see Gondola 1996; Stewart 2000). Perhaps most importantly, beginning in the 1950s,

several artists started to make comfortable salaries from their music, which allowed them to enter music

full time and establish a level of professionalism relatively unique to the continent (Stewart 2000: 113).

This change from musical pastime to fulltime employment, along with the distinctive style of the

Congolese sound, brought a great deal of prestige and attention to the music coming from the two

Congos. By the 1960s, many artists, such as Franco, Joseph Kabasele (Le Grande Kalle), Dr. Nico, and

Tabu Ley Rochereau, became famous throughout eastern and central Africa, and their music was

celebrated by many listeners as being the first pan-African sound. Given the prominence of the music

scene in the DRC and the Congo, why did so many artists head east to Dar es Salaam rather than west to

Kinshasa and Brazzaville?

Violence, memory and displacement

In early 1960, before the Congo attained independence from Belgium, a family of eight children,

parents, and two grandparents sat in small house in Elisabethville (currently called Lubumbashi). Suzan

Kanku, the mother, was cooking a meal of ugali with meat and greens when two soldiers appeared in the

kitchen. After a brief exchange of words, one of the soldiers shot Kanku in the stomach. Kanku collapsed

to the ground, and members of her family rushed in to find the source of the commotion. They saw the

mother covered in blood and the silhouettes of the soldiers running from the house. The family quickly

rushed Kanku to a nearby hospital where the doctors refused to operate on her. Instead, they let her bleed

to death. The family, distraught, left the hospital and returned home to find the kitchen and their food

covered in the mother’s blood. With an ailing father and few economic options, the family was eventually

forced to eat the food that had been left by their mother.

Although it is impossible to substantiate the details of this narrative, they form an important

memory for the young boy who experienced the events. Kassongo Mpinda Clayton, who was fifteen

when his mother was killed, describes the violence against his mother as part of an ethnic conflict. Both

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the soldiers and the doctors who refused to operate on the mother were Lulua, while Kassongo and his

family were Baluba. The Lulua-Luba conflicts claimed hundreds of lives in the Katanga region, where

Elizabethville is located, particularly in the period before independence when each ethnic group sided

with a different political party for independence: Lulua were allied with the MNC-Lumumba while the

Luba allied with the MNC-Kalonji (Fabian 101). Even after independence, however, conflicts erupted in

Katanga, and other areas of the Congo encountered elements of violence. Between 1960 and 1961,

various ethnic and political entities were pitted against one another in many local conflicts that often

stemmed from control over local resources.3

Violence created traumatic experiences for many people living in eastern Congo. Various forms

of popular culture, such as painting, music, and literature, bear out the results that violence on people’s

collective experiences living in the early 1960s. More importantly, the memories of violence became

embodied in people’s daily routines, and formed the basis through which they made connections to the

past, present, and anticipated future (Becker et. al. 2000: 321). For artists, such as Kassongo, the

memories of the violence created a constant need to find healing through disassociating with the place

where the violence had occurred. Healing therefore came in leaving the Katanga region for other areas of

the country or continent. In Kassongo’s case, he joined a friend’s band in Zambia called the Wing

Brothers and never returned to the Congo for more than brief visits.

For those who remained in the eastern Congo during the 1960s, political problems continued to

encumber their success as popular music artists. Ndala Kasheba, a highly regarded singer and guitarist,

3 A Baluba rebellion emerged in north Katanga where bands of “youth” attacked various populations, such as Europeans, mining centers, military personnel, and other ethnicities, in an effort to counter both their loss of economic and political power (Gerard-Libois 123-127). To combat these rebellions, Moise Tshombe, president of the Katanga provisional government, recruited mercenaries who specialized in guerilla warfare (Gerard-Libois 125). The Armee nationale congolaise (formerly the Force Publique), as well as the United Nations, also operated in the region in a purported effort to quell the violence and create stability in the newly independence country (Young 352). ANC involvement in the Kasai province resulted in large scale massacres, particularly at Mbuji-May and Kasengulu between August and September 1960, and other attacks occurred in the Katanga region (Lefever 1965). The most important factor, however, in creating a sense of instability in the Katanga region during the early 1960s was the move made by Moise Tshombe to make Katanga an independent state. Numerous natural resources were at stack, and control of these became a significant obstacle to creating a unified state in the early years of independence. Though the attempts at succession eventually ended in January 1963 when the UN defeated Tshombe’s military and mercenary forces, the impact on the lives of many people in the eastern Congo was lasting.

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performed with the group Fauvette during the 1960s. His group was popular enough that they could tour

throughout eastern Africa setting up shows as they traveled. Kasheba explains:

In 1967, with the band [Fauvette], we went on a tour from Likasi, 120 km to Lubumbashi, to Kalemie on the border with Lake Tanganyika. The Lake really made us want to cross it [into Tanzania] but instead we went to Bukavu in 1968. The Congolese war then started and we fled to Bujumbura [Burundi] as refugees. We arrived in Bujumbura, we really had the desire to head to Tanzania and we went to Kigoma in 1968. We stayed in Kigoma, Tabora, and other areas and arrived in Dar es Salaam in 1969. In 1969, we were received by Western Jazz, which was a very big band at the time. (2001)

The “1968 war” that Kasheba refers to began as the mutiny of mercenary and Kantangan gendarme units

between July and November 1967. In the town of Kisangani on July 5, Jean Shramme, a Belgian

mercenary leader, led an attack with eleven whites and around 100 Katangese on troops from the Forces

Armées Zaïroises (FAZ). The attack killed and wounded hundreds including family members of the FAZ

troops. The FAZ retaliated by killing 30 mercenaries. Shramme regrouped and, in the period of a few

weeks, managed to build a force of over a thousand people. On August 8, Shramme and his force

captured Bukavu, the capital of the Kivu region, displacing around 190,000 residents of the town.

Fighting between the mercenary force and FAZ lasted for weeks until the final group of mercenary

fighters fled to Rwanda in early November (Young and Turner 1985: 251-253).

Kasheba and the other members of Fauvette found themselves in the middle of the fighting in

1967 (though Kasheba gives the date as 1968, most likely he was in the region in late 1967). The best

option, according to Kasheba, was to flee as refugees and continue touring in other countries. The nearly

two year trip from Likasi to Dar es Salaam gave Kasheba a sense of life in other parts of eastern Africa.

Once in Dar es Salaam, the group was welcomed by Western Jazz, one of the most popular bands in

Tanzania during the 1970s. Despite instrument and financial problems, the group found support with the

manager of the White House, a club in Ubongo, Dar es Salaam, where the band performed on-and-off

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over the next four years. The group established a reputation among politicians and local audiences for

their “original” sound.4 As one writer points out Fauvette

entertains many Tanzanians every night. Here, they really showed their skill and decided to record the song “Mama Nakupenda” [“Mama I love You”], which was recorded at Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam workers were astonished (even the native Tanzanian bands, such as NUTA, Westeni [Western Jazz], Moro, and Jamhuri were thunderstruck).5

Their reputation as talented artists allowed Kasheba and Fauvette a chance to establish a reputation in Dar

es Salaam and escape the volatility of the Congo.

These situations of violence created instability in everyday practices of being a musician in the

eastern Congo. Given that the 1960s was an important transition in many African countries for musicians

to move from performing music as a pastime to fulltime employment, the difficulty in finding steady

forms of income created a great deal of restlessness among many in the Katanga and Kivu regions. This

instability either directly affected artists, such as Kassongo and Kasheba, or left artists with few viable

alternatives for performing and recording. Even by the 1970s, when most of the violence had waned, few

opportunities existed in eastern Zaire for artists to find steady incomes from their music.

Competition

In 1970, King Kiki joined Ndala Kasheba’s group Fauvette in Dar es Salaam. Both Kiki and

Kasheba grew up together in Likasi, a town to the north of Lubumbashi in the Katanga region, and knew

each very well when Kiki made the journey east to join Kasheba’s group. After two years, the band left

Dar es Salaam, changed its name to Safari Nkoy, and spent a brief period in Bujumbura before returning

to Zaire. In 1974, Kiki decided to try his luck in Kinshasa since it was the hub of musical activity in the

country. The journey took a full week: four days by train from Lubumbashi to Ilibo and three days by

4 The group did spend some time in Nairobi as well but referred to the musicians in Kenya as unoriginal and vulgar, which encouraged them to return to Dar es Salaam. 5 “Fauvette Safaris,” Nyota Afrika, September 1971: pgs 6, 20.

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boat up the Congo River to Kinshasa. According to Kiki, the journey alone discouraged many artists from

eastern Zaire from traveling to Kinshasa. They were more inclined to travel to Uganda, Kenya, Zambia,

and Tanzania, even though the trip to Dar es Salaam from Lubumbashi took as long if not longer than the

trip to Kinshasa.

Once in Kinshasa, Kiki “surveyed” the scene and, after six months, joined with Dr. Nico’s group,

a sign of certain success given the reputation of Nico as one of the greatest rumba guitarists. But, with

problems of money, instruments, and frustration among band members, most musicians, according to

Kiki, ended up leaving the group soon after they joined. Kiki left to join one of the house bands at the

club Suzanella Maison Blanche.6 For another year, Kiki enjoyed some success with the group before

returning to Lubumbashi to attend the funeral of his uncle. In Lubumbashi, Kiki rejoined Safari Nkoy

with Kasheba and the group headed back to Kinshasa to perform at the Zaire Music Festival in a

competition for the best band in the country (November 1976). Safari Nkoy won the competition, which

was organized by then president Mobutu Sese Seko. Ironically, however, the band returned to

Lubumbashi after only a month in Kinshasa, unable to establish themselves in the city despite their recent

success. Kiki explains:

In Kinshasa, you needed to be an experienced and mature musician. Because in Kinshasa, there were many excellent musicians in bands, in competitions. If you did not have the experience [musically, financially, etc.], you could not do anything in Kinshasa. And, the good musicians waited until they had opportunities to go places with good music. Many left [Kinshasa] in this way. (2007)

Kiki’s use of the word experience is important since he is referring to more than just musical ability. To

have experience in Kinshasa means that artists need to already have connections with people in the music

industry in order to record, broadcast, and perform their music; they needed finances or the sponsor of

wealthier individuals to buy instruments and equipment; and they needed knowledge of the politics of

daily life within one of the most important music scenes in Africa. Kahanga Dekula states, “Going to

Kinshasa was hard. You had to figure out were you were going to stay, which band would receive you,

and which business person could come to get you. Tanzania was easy for us” (2007). Most musicians who 6 The two house bands were Orchestra Kosakosa and Palarameso Kasa. Kiki joined the later.

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migrated to the city struggled, while those born in the city, such as Mose Fanfan, had time to establish

themselves in either Brazzaville or Kinshasa.7 Given the preeminence of Kinshasa as a city with the top

musicians, many artists opted to use their talent and the commodity of their music to travel to other

countries to perform rather than compete with the country’s elite musicians.

Even though Kinshasa was a difficult environment for professional music, competition was not

the only factor pushing musicians to try their careers outside of the city. Life in Kinshasa had generally

become difficult under zaïrianisation, a plan announced on November 1973 by then president Mobutu

Sese Seko, which required foreign enterprises to relinquish ownership and control of many strategic

sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, commerce, and transport. Zaïrianisation had an immediate

impact on the music industry: record companies in Kinshasa had a difficult time getting raw materials to

press records; pirated albums and cassettes from Nairobi filtered into the local market; cassette tapes,

particularly pirated tapes, eroded the more legitimate forms of music production and distribution; and the

copyright office was relatively ineffective. As many as five million records could be sold in Kinshasa

each year before 1973, but with zaïrianisation and later policies (radicalization and retrocession), those

numbers quickly dwindled (White 1998). Along with extensive mismanagement and greed, the Zairian

economy declined and pushed many people, included musicians, to find opportunities elsewhere. Several

artists, such as Kabasele Tshamala (Le Grande Kalle), Bondo Gala, Armando Ama, and Seskain

Molenga, found their way to Paris. Other artists, including the highly influential singer Sam Mangwana,

moved around West Africa trying to establish a new sound in that region (Stewart 2000: chapter 16). A

few musicians, such as Ikomo ‘Djo Djo’ Ingange, Tshimanga Assosa, and Mose ‘Fan Fan’ Se Sengo,

headed south or east, all eventually arriving in Dar es Salaam.8

Repositioning

7 Mose Fanfan was born in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) on October 16, 1944. He started his my music career in 1960 with the Micra Jazz Band created by Raymond Tanglain, Madiata, and Simaro. 8 Tshimanga Assosa left Kinshasa after the break-up of Negro Succes in 1976.

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Many other groups from eastern Zaire never traveled to Kinshasa realizing the improbability of

making a career in the city. Instead, they moved to nearby cities and towns, such as Lubumbashi and

Likasi. The majority of musicians could not afford instruments and relied on the sponsorship of wealthy

patrons, political figures, and businessmen (this practice remains in place today). While sponsorship had

benefits, such as allowing a band time to mature until it generated profits, the practice tended to cause

conflicts between the bands and their owners. These conflicts often resulted in significant movement of

musicians from one band to another (a process I refer to as repositioning) and a regular changing of band

names to account for new members of a band or new ownership. More importantly, musicians frequently

commented on their distrust of band owners who were thought to be stealing from the band profits. Self-

ownership, therefore, became a goal for many groups even though it tended to be unachievable.

To illustrate the fate of these bands in the eastern Congo, one has only to follow the career of the

band that would become Orchestra Maquis. In 1963, twelve musicians came together in the town of

Kamina in the Katanga region to form the group Rocken Success. Over the next decade, the group

continually struggled to find significant economic or musical support. On January 2, 1964, the group

moved to Lubumbashi and started performing in a bar called the Rwaraba. The owner of the band had a

conflict with the band members and, during a salary dispute, evicted several members of the band,

including Chinyama Chiyaza, Emmanuel Likoko, and Zimbwinji, some of the most talented musicians in

the group. The remaining members decided to find a “new rich person” and, after finding one, became

Rocken Band.9 Likoko ended up taking over the new band with other musicians (they became Bosco

Band) and the remaining members were again forced to find a new patron.

Chiyaza went to see Chief Kasongo Nyembo (he was chief of the Bamba) who agreed to buy the

band instruments. The band bought the instruments from Zambia, renamed themselves Super Gaby, and

then on December 1965 started to play in Likasi and then Kalemie. Chief Kasongo however, died in 1967

and the band had to sell its instruments. In Kamina, they again searched for someone to support them and

9 Emmanuel Likoko moved to Kinshasa after he was forced out of Rocken Success. Since he taught the band members songs and how to play, he was asked to return in July 1964.

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finally found Yamba Yamba, who owned the bar Hotel Palare and the band became Super Theodore in

August 1967. This pattern continued for several years until they were able to attain support from the

government and, after a vote from the band members, became Chimbuiza Chinsense la Maquis du Zaire

on February 26, 1972.10 In April, the band decided to try to tour the area and head north to Kampala

where they hoped to find a strong music scene. By August, however, the band had only made it to

Kigoma in Tanzania.

Similar to Lusaka, Kampala was a significant draw for many artists in eastern Congo due to its

close proximity. Many artists, therefore, opted to move to Kampala to find area bars or hotels to perform

in. One such artist was Kitenzogu “Mzee” Makassy whose choice to head to Kampala came during the

continued violence in Kivu, where he lived. In 1963, he fled to Kampala and became leader of the Appolo

Jambos, a band that performed in a hotel of the same name. The band mainly performed “copyright”

songs, cover versions of American and European songs, which were popular at the time. Most of the

members of his band were also from Zaire though all but one has since passed away.

In 1973, Makassy traveled to England and Italy for two years. Upon his return, he found the Hotel

Appolo Jambos renamed the International Hotel and Idi Amin becoming more controlling of life in the

city. Makassy attempted to start a new band with money he saved from his European trip, but he was soon

arrested and thrown in jail for four days. Mbombo wa Mbomboka, the singer in what became Orchestra

Makassy, met the businessmen Fadhili Batenga in Kampala. Batenga mentioned a contract that Makassy

could take with the Tanzanian Tourist Board, which would allow the band to leave Kampala and attempt

a new career in Dar es Salaam.

By the early to mid-1970s, many artists were scattered over central Africa looking for a place to

perform and earn a living from their music. Kassongo Mpinda Clayton, Mose Fanfan, and Tshimanga

Assosa were in Lusaka. Orchestra Maquis du Zaire was in Kigoma. Makassy was getting ready to leave

Kampala with his group of musicians. Even King Kiki, Ndala Kasheba, and other members of Safari

Nkoy realized that Kinshasa, Likasi, or Lubumbashi did not hold promise for a musical career. In fact, a 10 The word maquis is French for shrub or bush but is more likely a reference to underground resistance.

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common complaint emerged in the eastern regions of Zaire that, “there was no steady salary and the

public was smaller. You play at one bar without the benefits of recordings, television, promoters, or

producers” (Dekula 2007). Without steady incomes or the possibility of playing at various locations

throughout the week, salaries for artists were limited. All the artists listed here therefore opted to head

east to Dar es Salaam though many, such as members of Orchestra Maquis and Mose Fanfan, believed

that they would be in the city for a short time.

Arriving in Dar es Salaam

The second half of this paper discusses the arrival of Congolese artists in Tanzania during the

1970s. Dar es Salaam offered unique opportunities for many Congolese artists to find steady salaries,

performance venues and recordings studios, and political stability. While several musicians opted to leave

in the early 1980s, the bulk of the performers discussed above opted to remain in Tanzania and attain

citizenship in that country. The fixation of place and re-establishment of identity constructed in terms of

musical authority and Tanzanian citizenship marked an important transition for many artists who opted to

stay in Tanzania even after their musical careers dissolved.

In addition to exploring the transition toward citizenship for Congolese artists, the second section

also examines the reasons why these artists were accepted in Tanzania, particularly at a time when the

Tanzanian government was trying to push and promote local styles of music. Due to the power and

authority of Congolese music among both general audiences and the political elite in Tanzania, Congolese

artists established reputations as some of the best musicians and composers, professionally, and helped

give the music industry a boost in international recognition. Artists also found ways to shift their music to

fit Tanzanian aesthetics and thematic issues to both draw in audiences and remain on good terms with the

government. The result was a style of music that promoted unity, community, self-reliance, and other

governmental issues while remaining a popular medium for local audiences.

References

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Anon. 1971. “Fauvette Safaris.” Nyota September, page 6, 20. Askew, Kelly. 2002. Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press. ------. 2006. “Sung and Unsung: Musical Reflections on Tanzanian Postsocialisms.” Africa 76(1): 15-43. Becker, Gay, Yewoubdar Beyene, and Pauline Ken. 2000. “Memory, Trauma, and Embodied Distress:

The Management of Disruption in the Stories of Cambodians in Exile.” Ethos 28(3): 320-345. Bryceson, Deborah Fahy. 1985. “Food and Urban Purchasing Power: The Case of Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania.” African Affairs 84(337): 499-522. Dekula, Kahanga “Vumbi.” Phone interview by author. 3 February 2007. Ewens, Graeme. 1994. Congo Colossus: The Life and Legacy of Franco and OK Jazz. Norfolk, England:

BUKU Press. Gerard-Libois, Jules. 1966. Katanga Secession. Translated by Rebecca Young. Madison : University of

Wisconsin Press. Gondola, Charles Didier. 1996. Villes Miroirs: Migrations et Identités Urbaines à Kinshasa et

Brazzaville, 1930-1970. Paris, France: L'Harmattan. Gordon, David F. 1987. “Anglophonic Variants: Kenya versus Tanzania.” Annals of the American

Academy of Political and Social Science 489, International Affairs in Africa: 88-102. Graebner, Werner. 1997. “Whose Music? The Songs of Remmy Ongala and Orchestra Super Matimila.”

In Reading in African Popular Culture, edited by Karin Barber, 110-117. Bloomington: Indiana University Press and Oxford: James Curry.

Jewsiewicki, Bogumil. 2003. Musique Urbaine au Katanga. Paris : L’Harmattan. Kashamatubajike, Kanku Kelly. Interview by author. Dar es Salaam, 26 October 2000.

Kasheba, Fred Ndala. Interview by author. Dar es Salaam, 16 October 2000 and 26 March 2001.

Kiki, King. Interview by author. Dar es Salaam, 24 October 2000, 9 February 2007, and 10 February

2007.

Kolamoyo, Crispin Bakatuseka. 1999. La “Liberation” de Lubumbashi. Paris and Montreal: L’Harmattan.

Lefever, Ernest. 1965. Crisis in the Congo: A United Nations Force in Action. Studies of U.S. Policy and

the U.N., The Brookings Institute, Washington, D.C. Low, John. 1982. Shaba Diary: A Trip to Rediscover the ‘Katanga’ Guitar Style and Songs of the 1950s

and 1960s. Wein-Föhrenau.

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Martin, Phyllis M. 1995. Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Martin, Stephen. 1980. “Music in Urban East Africa: A Study of the Development of Urban Jazz in Dar

es Salaam.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington. ------. 1982. “Music in Urban East Africa: Five Genres in Dar es Salaam,” Journal of African Studies

9(3): 155-163. ------. 1991. “Brass Bands and the Beni Phenomenon in Urban East Africa.” Journal of the International

Library of African Music 7(1): 72-81. ------. 1998. “Music in Tanzania.” In Africa: The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Vol. 1, edited by

Ruth M. Stone, 633-47. New York: Garland Publishing. Matondo ne Mansangaza, Kanza. 1972. Musique Zaïroise Moderne. Kinshasa : C.N.M.A. Schmidt, Heike. 1997. “Healing the Wounds of War: Memories of Violence and the Making of History in

Zimbabwe’s Most Recent Past.” Journal of Southern African Studies 23(2): 301-310. Se Sengo, Mose “Fanfan”. Phone interview by author. 2 February 2007. Shaaban, Abu. 1966. “OS African Jazz Band.” Nyota. April: 19. Stewart, Gary. 2000. Rumba on the River: A history of the popular music of the two Congos. London and

New York: Verso. White, Bob Whitman. 1998. “Modernity's Spiral: Popular Culture, Mastery, and the Politics of Dance

Music in Congo-Kinshasa.” Ph.D. dissertation, McGill University. ------. 1999. “Modernity’s Trickster: ‘Dipping’ and ‘Throwing’ in Congolese Popular Dance Music.”

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University Press. Zhang, Li. 2001. “Migration and Privatization of Space and Power in Late Socialist China.” American

Ethnologist 28(1): 179-205. Discography Assosa, Tshimanga with Orchestra Maquis Original. n.d. Sendema ya Moto.

Kasheba, Ndala. n.d. Dunia Msongamano (The World is Crowded). Tanzania Film Company, TFCLP

001.

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*Maquis Original. Ndoa ya Matatizo, Baba Wile. Thompson Original

------. with Tshimanaga Assossa. Kiongo.

------. with Tshimanaga Assossa.The best of…Mamu Store: Dar es Salaam.

*Orchestra Fauvette. n.d. Nono na Kaleme. Dar es Salaam Music and Sport: Dar es Salaam.

Orchestre Makassy. 1982. Agwaya. Virgin (UK), V 2236.

------ 1984. Muziki Orchestre Makassy. ZEMKC 1.

*Orchestra Maquis Original with Kingi Kiki and Nguza Viking, Vol. 1-3. Dar es Salaam Music and Sport:

Dar es Salaam.

Orchestra Maquis Original. n.d. Kiongo ("A small lie").

------ n.d. Baba Wile ("Father of Willy").

Orchestre Maquis Original du Zaire. 1986. Karubandika. Ahadi (Kenya), AHDLP 6001.

------ 1987. Angelu . Ahadi (Kenya), AHDMC 005.

------ n.d. Clara. Ahadi (Kenya), AHDMC 007.

------ 1988. Ngalula. Ahadi (Kenya), AHDMC 011.

*Orchestra Safari Sound. Ndekule.

Orchestre Safari Sound. 1984. Dunia Msongamano. Tanzania Film Company, TFCLP 001.

Orchestra Safari Trippers. Mkuki. Mamu Store: Dar es Salaam.

Orchestre Trio National. n.d. “Mobutu le Sauveur” and “Adana.” Pathe 45rpm, C006-15.003B.

Orchestre Volcano (Mbaraka Mwinshehe). 1979. Shida.

------ 1979. The Last Recordings. Polydor, POLP 512.

------ 1979. The Very Last Recordings. Polydor.

------ 1982. Baniani - Mwinshehe Mwaruka. Polydor, POLP 517.

Safari Nkoy. 1975. “Fula Matamba.” SAF/M003, TY 09, Ndala Kasheba. ------. 1976. “Luka Yayo/ Situation.” SAF/M002, DZ 76802, Ndala Kasheba. ------. 1976. “Mwan Kwi/ Baz.” SAF/M005, DZ 76806, Tshikwey Soukous. ------. 1977. “Zinzele.” SAF/M004, TY 40, Ndala Kasheba, Soukous. ------. 1977. “Nasala.” SAF/M006, TY 38, Ndala Kasheba, Soukous. ------. 1977. “Kiamutema-Nkuni.” SAF/M007, TY 39 1977, Ndala Kasheba, Soukous. ------. 1978. “Changa cha Mukononyo.” SAM/GEO, TY 55, Kabeye Babu, Soukous. ------. n.d. “Tuliya Famille.” DIV/M049, TY 16, Ndala Kasheba, Soukous. ------. n.d. “Kiamutema Nkuni.” DIV/M163, TY 39, Ndala Kasheba, Soucous (sic).

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L'Orchestre Makassy. n.d. “Molema Pt. 1 / Molema Pt. 2.” A.I.T. Records, Editions Makassy [Nairobi]

EMK-05.

------. n.d. “Mosese Pt. 1 / Mosese Pt. 2.” A.I.T. Records, Editions Makassy [Nairobi] EMK-?.

------. n.d. “Mume Wangu Pt. 1 / Mume Wangu Pt. 2.” A.I.T. Records, Editions Makassy [Nairobi] EMK-

?.

------. n.d. “Cisca Pt. 1 / Cisca Pt. 2.” A.I.T. Records, Editions Makassy [Nairobi] EMK-07.

------. n.d. “Bakokabolakate Pt. 1 / Bakokabolakate Pt. 2.” A.I.T. Records, Editions Makassy [Nairobi]

EMK-08.

------. n.d. “Athumani Pt. 1 / Athumani Pt. 2.” A.I.T. Records, Editions Makassy [Nairobi] EMK-?.

------. n.d. The Greatest Hits of "Makassy" A.I.T. Records, LP, Editions Makassy [Nairobi] EMKLP 01.

------. n.d. Makassy. ZEMK/C 1. Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam.