Bozi Boziana still going strong as he thrills Nairobi on New year

Even at the age of 62, Congolese rhumba legend Bozi Boziana last week showed why he is still able to give the younger generation of musicians a run for their money.

OK, he doesn’t move with as much spring in his footstep as he once did but his New Year’s performance at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi showed enough glimpses of an artist who has played one of the most prominent roles in the development of modern Congolese dance music.

Although songs from his new album, “Fiko Fikofio” were well received at the show, it was the older favourites, especially the 1990s hit “Popo” that naturally drew the biggest response from the big crowd of fans.

Boziana has been around the music scene so long that he is fondly referred to as Le Grand Pere (the grandfather). His prolific recording career is virtually the story of the twists and turns of Congolese music involving multiple splinter groups and factions.

It all started rather humbly for a young man called Mbenzu Ngamboni Boskill in 1969 watching his father, an accordionist and singer, who was often invited to perform at funerals in the rural part of what was then Zaire.

The first band he played with was the Air Marine Orchestra before he moved to Kinshasa in 1970 for a short stint with Luna Nationale.

He then joined Orchestre Bamboula, a band headed by the legendary Papa Noel and featuring future Congolese stars like Madilu System, Papy Tex and Pepe Kalle in 1972.

His first trip to Europe came with a group of young musicians that performed in Belgium in early 1973. It was after returning to Kinshasa in November that year that the artist, now known as Boziana, joined the influential Zaiko Langa Langa where he found greats like Mavuela Simeone, Papa Wemba and Evoloko Jocker.

By the end of 1974, he together with Wemba, Mavuela and Evoloko walked out of Zaiko and formed Isifi Lokole. A leadership dispute between Evoloko and Wemba led to another walk out from the new band and in 1976, Boziana and Wemba formed Yoka Locale.

Given the size of egos among this group, it was only a matter of time before all the musicians went their own way. In 1978, Papa Wemba formed his own outfit Viva La Musica while Bozi and Evoloko returned to Zaiko Langa Langa.

SHOOK THE WORLD OF MUSIC

In 1981, the influential producer Verkys Kiamungana formed Langa Langa Stars, and recruited a group of musicians including Boziana along with Evoloko and Dindo Yogo.

“Langa Langa Stars shook the world of music but when Evoloko came to the band, he wanted to be boss and so again, this band was short-lived,” says Boziana. He then joined Choc Stars that was founded by Ben Nyamabo and enjoyed a string of successful singles like “Mbuta Mutu” “Alena” and “Sandu Kotti”.

According to author Gary Stewart’s “Rumba on the river” the most authoritative book on the history of modern Congolese music, Boziana was fired from Choc Stars because he was working on his own projects outside the official band. Boziana explains that he was kicked out of the group unceremoniously just as they were about to leave on a European tour.

By this time, Boziana was already recognised as one of the major figures of Congolese soukous and so he started his own band.
“A journalist in Kinshasa suggested that I should call the group Anti Choc Stars which I did in 1984 with bassist Ngouma Lokito and other musicians. The name was chosen to spite his former band by implying that the new group would be antidote to the Choc Stars.

Boziana would start a trend of working with a string of beautiful female vocalists, the most famous of which was the tall and elegant Jolie Detta who made her debut with Choc Stars before going on to achieve success with Franco’s T.P O.K Jazz. In 1988, the year Boziana was named the top musician in Kinshasa, Detta sang vocals on the year’s biggest hit in the country, “La Reine de Sabah”.

Other singers who worked with L’Anti Choc during this era include Mukangi Deesse, and Scola Miel who sang the vocals on “Popo”.

Boziana also became synonymous with the dance routine “Nza Wissa” which became popular thanks to the chants of the band member known in soukous as “atalaku” during the climax of the songs.

During his New Year performance in Nairobi, Boziana introduced Faila Boendi, a new female singer and the new CD/DVD “Fiko Fikofio” features two songs with Congolese singer Meje 30, a protégé of Tshala Muana and who has also recorded songs with Fally Ipupa and Koffi Olomide.

“The future is really bright for Anti Choc with the depth of new talent that is coming through,” says Boziana who returned to Paris a few days after his New Year performance.

This article was first published in the Business Daily.