Soukous

Soukous (from French secousse, "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo and the People's Republic of the Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, with faster dance rhythms and bright, intricate guitar improvisation, and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, song structures and longer dance sequences. Soukous fuses traditional Congolese rhythms with contemporary instruments. It customarily incorporates electric guitars, double bass, congas, clips, and brass/woodwinds. Soukous lyrics often explore themes of love, social commentary, philosophical musing, struggle, and success. Singers occasionally performed in Lingala, Kikongo, French and Swahili and bands often consist of a primary vocalist accompanied by several backing singers.

Soukous (from French secousse, "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo and the People's Republic of the Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, with faster dance rhythms and bright, intricate guitar improvisation, and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, song structures and longer dance sequences. Soukous fuses traditional Congolese rhythms with contemporary instruments. It customarily incorporates electric guitars, double bass, congas, clips, and brass/woodwinds. Soukous lyrics often explore themes of love, social commentary, philosophical musing, struggle, and success. Singers occasionally performed in Lingala, Kikongo, French and Swahili and bands often consist of a primary vocalist accompanied by several backing singers. ==History== ==Ndombolo== By the late 1990s, musicians such as Radja Kula, Wenge Musica, Koffi Olomidé, Général Defao, and Extra Musica metamorphosed soukous into raunchy, frenetic hip-swinging dance music, renaming it ndombolo. This style surged in popularity across Africa and into the continent's diaspora in Belgium, France, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the United States. However, by the early 2000s, ndombolo faced scrutiny, with accusations of obscenity leading to attempts to prohibit it from state media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, and Kenya. In February 2005, ndombolo music videos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo underwent censorship for indecency, which resulted in the banning of videos by Koffi Olomidé, JB Mpiana, and Werrason from airwaves. Despite the censure, ndombolo record sales surged, remaining popular with new releases dominating discos, bars, and clubs across Africa. ==See also== List of Soukous musicians List of Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sébène Champeta ==References== ==Bibliography== ==External links== The Sound of Sunshine: How soukous saved my life Rare recording (1961) of rural finger style Soukous guitarist Pierre Gwa with home made guitar GuitOp81's Soukous Guitar site

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