Congolese Singer Tshala Muana - "Lekela Muadi" (sound file, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the Congolese singer and showcases the song "Lekela Muadi".

Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's discussion thread are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Tshala Muana for her musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

Hat tip to TheHCGTube (Celeste) for the transcription of "Lekela Muadi" in Tshiluba, French, and English which I retrieved from her blog https://myciluba.com/2011/12/11/lekela-muadi-by-tshala-muana/.
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In South Africa''s isiZulu (Zulu) language the word "tshala" means "sow". I've also seen the meaning "plant" given for the Zulu word "tshala". In the Democratic Republic of the Congo "Tshala" is a given name and a last name.

Both Zulu and Luba are Bantu languages. However, websites that I have found for Luba names give the meaning of "Tshala" as "unknown". This may be an example of how words that are spelled the same and similarly and/or pronounced the same or similarly can have different meanings in different languages.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/03/south-african-gospel-choir-joyous.html for a pancocojams post about the South African Gospel choir Joyous Celebration's performance of a song entitled "Tshala".

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INFORMATION ABOUT TSHALA MUANA
Excerpt #1:
From https://vintagecongo.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/women-in-congolese-music-history/
"Élizabeth Tshala Muana Muidikayi (1958 – present day) aka Tshala Muana or the Queen of Mutuashi and Mother of the Nation was born in 1958 in the Élisabethville (Lubumbashi) Belgian Congo. Before she began her career as a singer Tshala Muana was a dancer, later on she went to popularise the dance music genre Mutuashi which is originally the traditional dances/songs and rhythms of the (Ba) Luba of Congo.

Tshala Muana being (Mu) Luba herself was inspired by it and popularised the Mutuashi music style which was pioneered by Dr. Nico Kasanda. Tshala Muana wrote much of her own material and, unlike most Congolese musicians who sang in Lingala and created Rhumba and Soukous music Tshala Muana preferred to incorporate the Mutuashi rhythms and to sing in mother tongue Tshiluba (she also produce tracks where she sang in Lingala, French and Swahili whist still incorporating Mutuashi rhythms)."

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Excerpt #2:
From http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2008/01/tshala-muana-musical-and-political.html
Thursday, January 10, 2008
..."Tshala Muana: A Musical and Political Biography of Dedication and Struggle
Very few Congolese artists have made it from Le Belle Epoche to the present day Congolese music scene with their fan base still intact while also picking up new fans along the way.

Many have passed away, while others simply lost their popularity over the years as the music of the Congo continued to go through changes. Tshala Muana is one such artist who has stood the test of time. Not only has Tshala Muana wowed audiences for years with her music she has been a advocate for political and social change in the Congo and has even had to flea [sic] the country because of her views and political work.

[...]

In 1984 she settles in Paris where she would eventually record 19 albums. She makes more world tours and almost everywhere she goes she wins awards and trophies for exceptional music. In 1987 she plays in the motion picture film "Falato".

In 1991 she was decreed by the Chiefs of the greater Kasai area as an Ambassador of Kasai Culture. In 1997 she returns to the Congo from Paris indefinitely. As an artist she has continuously fought for political soviernty and the territorial integrity of the Congo (Kinshasa). She created one of the greatest movements for women called REFECO (Regroupement des Femmes Congolaises: The Regrouping of Congolese Women) which continues to this day.

In the year 2000 she is appointed a Congolese national and takes a temporary break from her music. After 3 years at the urging of her manager she rejoins the music scene and creates a group called Dynasty Mutuashi and releases her 20th album "Dinanga Vuet Dire Amour" (Dinanga Means Love).

The album is an insanely huge success in The Democratic Republic of Congo and throughout Africa. In 2002 she releases MALU (Problem) and continues to gain recognition for her music. In 2003 she wins the KORA award for Best Female Artist. MALU goes on to sell close to 600, 000 copies not counting the numerous bootlegs that were surely sold.

Her latest album MAMU a double disc and dvd was released in 2006 bringing her discography to 22 albums. This release has also been met with rave reviews and continues Tshala's reign as the Queen of Mutuashi."...

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LYRICS "LEKELA MUADI"
From https://myciluba.com/2011/12/11/lekela-muadi-by-tshala-muana/
December 11, 2011 Clarisse
"This song is probably my favorite song in this world. It is a mix of salsa and mutuashi, the traditional rythm of Kasayi, Congo. As I explained in a previous post, this song is good example of “lisanga” or dedications. All along the song, Tshala Muana lists several people’s names. I put those parts between parenthesis...

This transcript is here only thanks to my mum who spent some of her free time on this… If you use this translation, please mention this blog to encourage us translating even more songs… It will be appreciated!^^

N.B.: Apparently this song is known in Latin America as “Kabuya” by Africando. TOTALLY FALSE!!! Give back to the Queen what belongs to the Queen. Africando is a Senegalese salsa band who often invited Congolese artists on their albums such as Papa Wemba, Nyboma or Madilu System but, correct if I’m wrong, as far as I know, they never invited Tshala Muana and I don’t think they speak Ciluba. However, ‘Lekela Mwadi’ was featured on Putumayo compilation entitled ‘Congo To Cuba’. I don’t know how people can be mistaken like that.

Title: Lekela Mwadi (Stop Crying)
Artist: Tshala Muana
Album: Mutuashi
Year: 1996
Label: Sterns


Wikala dikemena wa kwata kumu kusu

(Kabuya Pitch Lux Pitch Lualua Mama ya bongo)

Yelele yelele…
Nganji kubikila Maamù eh
Mamiani mwà Mbuya kasasu eh
Mambi wa Tumba ne Tshala eh
Mwâna mudikaya yampongo eh
Moyi munda nganyì wà ngakwile eh
Ngipata mukunda muya mukanka mwâna we lekela we

(Ya Esther Ngalula Kulola!)

Ya ye lele ya ye lele
Nganji kubikila Maamù eh
Mamyanyi mwa Mbuya kasasu eh
Mambi wa Tumba ne Tshala eh
Mwana mudikaya yampongo eh
Moyi munda nganyi wa ngakwile eh
Ngipata mukunda muya mukanka mwana we lekela we

Mwâna we lekela kudila mwadi e
Mwâna we lekela kudila mwadi e
Bakulumpa bakudima kwěpì ?
Bakudima kuyaya dîba
Kuyaya kumpengelela kwadi
Bilumbu ni bya salala bya ya
Ngondu wa kubanda mulundingu
Mukàjì mufwà bintu bibombe

(Maman Ndimi Ngoyi Maman Colonel)

Yaye lele yaye lele…
Ngimba ne Mulume Mutombo ee
Ngimba ne Ange Kayembe ee
Ngimba ne Ngalula Waba Milolo ee
Ngimba ne Yaya Sangye e
Ngimba ne Mputu wa ba Ntumba ee
Tangila Kabeya Ndombie
Twayi lona, lekelayi mwadi
Balongeshi bakalukanyia
Simon Kabila lekela we

Mwâna we lekela kudila mwadi ee
Mwâna we lekela kudila mwadi ee
Bakulumpa bakadima kwěpì
Bakadima kuyaya dîba
Kuyaya kumpengelela kwànyì
Bulumbu ni byà salala bya ya
Ngondu wa kubanda mulundingu
Mukàjì mufwa bintu bibombe

Twayi lona ee
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we
(Byà kulwa disànka) Maestro!

(Super Mwika Ya Marie eh Maman coup de foudre…)

(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Byà kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we

Bya kulwa disànka x4

(Bya kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Bya kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we
(Bya kulwa disànka) Twayi lona ee
(Bya kulwa disànka) Twayi lona we …

mutuashi2003

TRANSLATION:
Wikala dikemena wa kwata kumu kusu
Si tu es une fourmi rouge, accroche-toi au chiffon
If you are a red ant, hang on to the cloth

Nganji kubikila mamu
Que j’appelle maman
May I call mommy

Mamiani mwà Mbuya kasasu
Mon homonyme, la maman de Mbuya
My homonym, the mother of Mbuya

Mambia wa Tumba na Tshala
La maman de Tumba et de Tshala
The mother of Tumba and Tshala

Mwana mudikaya ya mpongo
L’enfant sur l’épaule du grand frère
The child on his older brother’s shoulder

Moyi munda ngani wa ngakwile
Mon cœur s’attriste, que tu intercèdes pour moii
My heart saddens, please intercede for me

Wipata mukunda muya mukanka
Je lance un cri strident qui va et fait trembler
I cry out loud and that sound’s loud and make people shake

Mwana we lekela
Toi mon petit, arrête-toi
Please, kid, stop

Mwana we lekela kudila mwadi
Toi mon petit arrête de pleurer
You, kid, stop crying

Bakulumpa bakadima kwepi ?
Les ainées, où cultivaient-ils ?
The elders where did they cultivate?

Bakadima kuyaya diba
Ils cultivaient là où le soleil se couche
They cultivated where the sun sets

Kuyaya kumpengelela kwadi
Là où la perdrix va pour se cacher
Where the partridge goes into hiding

Bilumbu ni bia salala bia ya
Les problèmes s’aggravent et s’estompent d’eux-mêmes
Problems come and go on their own

Ngondu wa kubanda mulundingu
La lune monte dans le firmament
The moon is rising in the sky

Mukàjì mufwà bintu bibombe
Une mère qui meurt
A mother is dying

Bya kulwa disànka
Cela devient une grande joie
This becomes a great joy

Twayi lona
Dansons ensemble
Let’s danse together

Ngimba ne Mulume Mutombo
Je chante avec Mulume Mutombo
i sing with Mulume Mutombo

Tangila Kabeya Ndombie
Regarde Kabeya Ndombie
Look Kabeya Ndombie

Twayi lona, lekelayi mwadi
Dansez de joie, arrêtez donc de pleurer
Danse with joy, stop crying

Balongeshi bakalukanyia Simon Kabila lekelayi
Les professeurs du lycée Simon Kabila, arrêtez (de pleurer)
Teachers of Simon Kabila High School, please stop…
-snip-
These transcriptions are given as they are found in that blog, including the ellipses and the fonts. The translations are given with the Tschiluba words first, followed by the French translation in bold and the , and English translation in italics.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Tshala Muana - 'Lekela Muadi'



foreignmovies, Published on Nov 7, 2008

This is a beautiful song by Tshala Muana from the Democratic Republic of Congo. As an English speaker, I do not understand a single word she sings, but her sweet, haunting vocals, accompanied by cool, soul-penetrating instrumentals makes this song a delightful listening experience!
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Here are selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread, with numbers assigned for referencing purposes only:

1. napboule2002, 2008
"wow excellent i love this song I also don't understand what she's saying but i came across it by purchasing putumayo congo to cuba cd and loved it eversince. thank you for posting."

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2. TheHCGTube, 2011
"for me, this piece beats everything i know. she is the best. Tshala Muana is the goddess of mutwashi and here she mixes it with latin rythm... genius! check the violins introduced at 0:39... brass, percussions, guitar and her voice!!! each detail is pure joy!!!

Twayi lone = let's dance and feast; bya kulwa disanka=and the joy will come...

check my blog "My Ciluba"... :)"

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3. boutcoeur, 2012
"Tshala Muana is the greatest african female singer, thanks"

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4. boutcoeur, 2012
"The language is Tshiluba , language of the Baluba people of Kasai in de DR Congo. it's spoken in the cities of Kananga, Mbuji-Mayi, Tshikapa, Mwene-Ditu etc... it's one of the main languages and lingua franca of Congo, it has a semi-official status in the country known as "national language"."

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5. TheHCGTube, 2013
"lekele mwadi=stop crying"

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6. TheHCGTube,2013
"yeah it's Tshiluba. the translation is on my blog. I don't know if you know (myciluba wordpress com/2011/12/11/lekela-muadi-by-tshala-muana/). Lekela mwadi = stop crying. It's basically a call to rejoice as bad things don't last for ever. It time, good things will happen..."

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7. FREDERICK-BROOCKLYN FILIUS SANCTI, 2013
"es tshiluba uno de los 4 grandes idiomas junto con el francés lengua oficial hablado en Republica Democratica del Congo/ Made in África tierra madre en dónde se han originado la rumba, la cumbia, la samba, el tango, el chacha cha, etc"
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Google translation from Spanish to English:
"is tshiluba one of the 4 major languages along with the French official language spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo / Made in Africa mother earth where the rumba, the cumbia, the samba, the tango, the cha cha, etc. have originated"

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8. Edwin Abungu, 2014
"These are Haunting Vocals indeed ..Tshala the Legend."

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9. oceej0, 2014
"Congolese, you have reason to be proud, marvellous music.
From a Nigerian Briton."

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10. Deyanira Stella Bonilla Valencia
"hermosa voz e interpretación,linda canción"
-snip-
Google translation from Spanish to English:
"beautiful voice and interpretation, nice song"

11. **
Thesy Beya, 2016
"Elle est trop top koi. Proud Congolese here! unfortunately, i never got to learn this language well enough through my parents... never too late i guess."

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12. Marco Romano, 2016
"Best song on the album, Mutuashi! The queen cooks!"

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