Some Childhood Memories Of The Song "Zangalewa" In Africa & In Colombia, South America Prior To Shakira Singing "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)

juniorka2, Jan. 28, 2011

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on the Cameroonian song "Zangalewa".

This post showcases a video of Kenyan comic Zangalewa entertainers. Comments about these entertainers are given in the Addendum to this post.

This post also presents a compilation of selected comments from various YouTube discussion threads about commenters' memories about the original "Zangalewa" song. I'm interested in comments about memories of "Zangalewa" prior to Shakira's 2010 performance of the song that she calls "Waka Waka" (This Time For Africa"). I'm particularly interested in comments that include demographic information (a nation name) and comments that also include the decade that these memories are associated with.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-cameroons-1986-zangalewa-song-and.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post showcase a video of the original 1986 "Zangelewa" song and video of the 2010 "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" song. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/what-1986-cameroonian-song-zangalewa.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. This post showcases a clip of the original Zangalewa video and documents online comments that summarize the Zangalewa song and provide English translations for some of that song's lyrics.  That pancocojams post also presents some information about the songs "Zangalewa" and "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)".

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are associated with this video.

Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SOME CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF THE SONG "ZANGALEWA" IN AFRICA AND IN SOUTH AMERICA (BEFORE SHAKIRA'S "WAKA WAKA" SONG)

These comments are from various discussion threads of YouTube videos of the song "Zangalewa". The discussion threads for these selected comments are presented in no particular order . The discussion thread and their comments that are compiled in this post are numbered for referencing purposes only.  

Excerpt #1

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47zwuOVXNQ&ab_channel=juniorka2 "Zangalewa (Zamina mina....) Waka waka", juniorka2, Jan 28, 2011

1. Jeff Barrett, 2014
"shakira made this song famous because  in the near 80's african music was very popular in the colombian caribean coast where she is from, in that part of colombia by the time of the colony arrived many african slaves and since then they have stayed here they're now colombians but they still have that thing that makes them africans... and thats the reason why a radio station in cartagena started to broadcast popular african music it was really hard to get that type of music at first  but they did it and people loved it even people who were not african descendants so that's when she came up with the idea... in this part of colombia there are many lebanese people turkies, arabics, spaniards, and of course indigenous people too who really own this land."

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Reply
2. Noel Disey, 2017
"I'm from Bogotá and I remember this original version was popular on the radio, nearly 90's"

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Reply
3.  Emma Ibn-talal Ikhwan, 2020
"Well, she made it famous for non Africans. This song has been around since the 60s and probably before. It was african marching chant as they do their early morning street march"

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4. Beven T Tsimba, 2016

"This takes way back.. Used to put pillows and imitate the guys.. This is just my childhood jam.. Will always love it.."

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5. Orlando jose Cespedes, 2016
"Zangalewa 1986 se iso popular en Cartagena  en los año 70"
.snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English: 
"Zangalewa 1986 became popular in Cartagena in the 70's"

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6. mzingaye mkwananzi, 2017
"Wow...! *2 Firstly Zangalewa brings back a flash back of my childhood back in the 90s. I resided in Victoria Falls were we had the privilege of watching Zambian broadcaster ZNBC were I first saw this song.

Secondly I am surprised by the fact that Shakira made this her song and didn't even give credit to these guys. But on that token she has to be applauded as a musician for taking a 30yr old song and making it a worldwide anthem."

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7. Senge Syndysolidard, 2019
"Aww I remember my primary school days. Am emotional right now😅😅😅 we sang this while marching especially during 11 Februaries n was an epic moments...I love my country 🇨🇲😍😍"
-snip-
Here's an excerpt of an article that explains the significance of Feb. 11 in Cameroon:
From https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/cameroon/youth-day#:~:text=History%20of%20Youth%20Day&text=The%20date%20of%20February%2011th,Cameroons%20chose%20integration%20into%20Nigeria.
"Youth Day is a national holiday in the Republic of Cameroon on February 11th each year.

 The celebration of the holiday is intended to increase awareness and recognition of the significant role played by youth in the country.

 ...The date of February 11th was chosen to commemorate the referendum that took place on that day in 1961 which saw the southern part of British Cameroons decide in favour of joining newly independent Cameroon. The northern part of British Cameroons chose integration into Nigeria.

Youth Day has been a public holiday since 1966.

This holiday is celebrated with enthusiasm and vigour across the nation with planning meetings taking place beforehand for the numerous parades and sports events that mark the day."...

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8. Uwem Ekpo, 2019
"The  music has been around since the 70,s because I remember us singing it in the school or chartered lorry after winning hig h school soccer match. Any support from Etinan  Institute from Umoh Etukudo era?"
-snip-
Etinan Institute is a school in Nigeria.that was established in 1915. https://www.facebook.com/EtinanInstitute/

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9. Jeff Abu, 2019
"Wow! This video brought back childhood memories. I use to sing and act along whilst watching this on TV back in the early nineties. 😁"

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Reply
10. Jeff Abu, 2019
"🇳🇬"
-snip-
"NG" is the country code for Nigeria.

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11. Ibrahin Ezequiel Martins Ibrahin, 2019
"I remember watching this song on tv. good times. From Angola!"

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12. Emma Ibn-talal Ikhwan, 2020
"There is an even older version in the late 60s and early 70s that we sang in primary schools in Nigeria

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13. 4. Fa., 2021
""One ❤️ Africa 
This was our childhood anthem in Ethiopia. God bless our continent 💚💛❤"

*️*
14. Dagim Tekle, 2021
"Ethiopian 🇪🇹  i remember this song when its african union and its in adiss ababa this song was in our tv 24/7 ❣"

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15. bawe shelah, 2021
"my childwood song and this reminds me of my primary school and the fact that my dad was in the army. proudly Cameroonian"

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16. Kelvin Anderson, 2021
"We enjoyed this song as a kid in Nigeria. Thanks for the information. I never knew it was originally from my neighbouring country Cameroon 🇨🇲. One love"

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17. siri man, 2021
"this song is the marching song of african soldiers ( engages volontaires) in the second world war it mixed of bunch of african dialects 3 of those songs became famous I think the last army to sing it was the army of cameroon everyone by now devolopped thier own marching song"

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18. Levis Lopez, 2021
"La musica africana es adoptada en colombia desde los 70s para nosotros los colombianos es normal escuchar esta musica en barranquilla cartagena y toda colombia"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English
"African music has been adopted in Colombia since the 70s, for us Colombians it is normal to listen to this music in Barranquilla, Cartagena and throughout Colombia."

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19. Nahashon Irungu, 2021
"Used to go for movies as boys in a kibanda. The guy would play this song as we waited for other customers to arrive. Happy days those ones."
-snip-
Here's information about the Swahili word "kibanda" from https://en.bab.la/dictionary/swahili-english/kibanda: "cabin, hut, shack, stall". I think that the commenter meant that the movies were shown in a small building.

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20.  john omolaye, 2021
"Wow! Thanks for uploading. I remember my childhood days ooo. This songs played on NTA Nigerian television. I do dance with my dad"

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21. muzaki vicky, 2021
"💃💃💃💃😅😅😅❤🌹⚽️⚽️⚽️ I loved this song school time football this was theme song and its a must win 🏆for my school I till love it 😀 2021 Uganda 🇺🇬"

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22. Cjay 111, 2021
"From Kenya, use to hear this song growing up, watched it in our black TVs."
-snip-
"Black TVs" probably means television where the programs are only shown in black & white (no colors).  

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23. Stefan kwaku, 2022
"Proud to be African; Still Vibing to this beautiful masterpiece from Ghana 🇬🇭, This was a Childhood hit🔥🔥"

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ih3z5eS1PI "Version Coupe du Monde 2010 /  "Zangalewa : Version Coupe du Monde 2010 / 2010 World Cup video edit", published by GroupeZangalewa, Sept. 7, 2011
1.lescamerpasvénales, 2015
"Zangalewa et les Golden Sounds du Cameroun nous faisaient déjà rire au pays avec leurs déguisements dans les années 80 , avant la REPRISE de Shakira : la preuve !"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English:
 "Zangalewa and the Golden Sounds of Cameroon were already making us laugh in the country with their disguises in the 80s, before Shakira's COVER: the proof!"

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2. SMC Escobar Gonzalez, 2017
"Canción de 1987  de Camerún para el mundo"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English:
"1987 song from Cameroon to the world"

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Reply
3. Maria Paz Martínez, 2021
"La canción ya la cantaban los soldados de Camerun en la segunda guerra mundial, en el 87 la grabaron las dominicanas Las Chicas Del Can. Si te referís a esta versión es de principio de los 80"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English

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4. yvonne mupasu, 2020
"Reminds m of my child hood frm Zimbabwe ...Afrobit"

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5. simeon Essoh, 2021
"Je suis ivoirien. J'étais encore un gamin. C'était au milieu des années 70; cette chanson était utilisée pour animer les activités du scootisme et C.V - A.V."
-snip-
Google translate from French to English:
"I am Ivorian. I was still a kid. It was in the mid-70s; this song was used to animate the activities of scootism and C.V - A.V."
-snip-
“Scootism” probably refers to the Boy Scouts.  I don't know what C.V.- A.V means.

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMfR0astQc&ab_channel=NothingLikeVinyl    "Golden Sounds - Zangalewa (music from Cameroon)", Nothing like vinyl, June 28, 2019
Summary: "Golden Sounds was a makossa band from Cameroon, creator of this song that was a huge hit in Africa in 1986. Two years later, the song also became a smash hit in Colombia, where it was associated to a music style called "terapia" ("theraphy"). The song itself was known in this country with the name of "El Militar" ("The Military"). Here you can hear the original, full-length version of this song, which many years later was used by Colombian singer Shakira as the basis for the recording that became the officlal song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament that took place in South Africa.

Original Colombian pressing from 1988."

Selected comments:
1. mvolo alain, 2021
"As a former scout leader we used to sing it during the parade on  Cameroon national day in Douala and Buea other versions after 1986 are fake and overuse."

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2. mvolo alain, 2021
"This original  full verion from.Cameroon  recorded in 1986 from "" Garde presidentielle  escadron musique  Ekounou- Yaounde)"

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Excerpt #4
From 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACFXs5IInQ4&ab_channel=EYEGAMBIA  "The African 'Waka Waka' many don't know about." published by EYEGAMBIA, July 6, 2020

Alexinara, 2021
"I grew with my grandparents who used to play this song almost on daily basis. As a young cameroonian pupil  back then, we will sing and march along to this song to our classrooms. Then came shakira, and then we lost our song. I still love the original more than shakiras though"

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Excerpt #5
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ih3z5eS1PI "Version Coupe du Monde 2010 / 2010 World Cup video edit" published, GroupeZangalewa, Sept. 7, 2011
Eunice Saiti, 2021
"l grew up listening to this song and enjoyed every bit of it in 1980s, Love from Malawi ❤"

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ADDENDUM: COMMENTS ABOUT KENYAN ZANGALEWA ENTERTAINERS
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47zwuOVXNQ&t=113s&ab_channel=juniorka2

1. James Luchera, 2017

"The song is from Cameroon but the dancers are Kenyan dancing and comedy group called the Zangalewas."

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2. adewale1971, 2018
"Kenyans ability to jam to this Cameroon song shows the connectiveness of Africa ; east , west , north and south ..we are all one. One day we will be the world  super power as the Real USA ( United States of Africa)!!!!!!!!

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3. John Njogu Ndegwa, 2019 
"These DANCERS brought the whole difference meaning of Dramatized  music in Kenya, in the eighties. Thank you ZANGALEWA TROOP."

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4. Ian Aruasa, 2021
"Events in Kenya felt incomplete without people acting as zangalewa"

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5. SynQ Electric, 2021
“If you are Kenyan and you are here, tell me, are these the same guys who used to Perform many shows here in Kenya in the past or were there copycats because in my childhood years i used to watch them perform a lot”

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6. Teresa Gladys Nalikka, 2021
"Dikula 🤣🤣🤣 that's what we used to call men who dressed up like these guys with big stomachs and white beard paint in Uganda growing up. My granny would scare us that if we didnt behave well the men would eat us🤣🤣🤣. ❤❤❤ this song

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This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visiting comments are welcome.

Memories Of Angelique Kidjo's Song "Wombo Lombo" (From Some Africans & Other People's Childhood, Teenage, Or Young Adult Years)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on Beninese, West African singer/songwriter Angelique Kidjo's 1996 song "Wombo Lombo".

Part II presents a small compilation of comments from Africans and other persons writing on two YouTube video discussion threads and one other website about their childhood memories of watching Angelique Kidjo sing "Wombo Lombo" on Jack's Big Big Music Show.

Part II of this pancocojams post also presents some comments from Africans and other persons writing on YouTube discussion threads about other memories of the song "Wombo Lombo" when they were children, teens, or young adults.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/1996-video-of-angelique-kidjos-song.html for Part I of this series. Part I showcases two videos of "Wombo Lombo": the official YouTube video of that 1996 song and a 2007 video of the version of "Wombo Lombo" that Angelique Kidjo performed on the American children's television series Jack's Big Big Music Show.

Part I also includes "Wombo Lombo"s lyrics as well as some information and comments about that song.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Angelique Kidjo and Jean Hebrail for composing this song and thanks to Angelique Kidjo for her musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE:[This same note is also found in Part I of this series.]
I'm an African American who has no memory of the song "Wombo Lombo" and just became acquainted with that song three days ago after happening upon Yemi Alade's and Angelique Kidjo's 2020 song "Shekere" (as a fortuitous result of a YouTube recommendation.). The song "Shekere" by Nigerian singer Yemi Alade and Beninese Republic singer Angelique Kidjo is a remix of Kidjo's 1996 "Wombo Lombo" song. "Shekere" has quickly become a viral hit with 1,264,710 views in four days [as of 9:18 PM on February 9, 2020]. At least some people-including me- who watched that "Shekere" video sought out YouTube versions of the original song "Wombo Lombo" and any online information that could be found about that song. Some people also watched at least the official video for "Wombo Lombo", if not the Jack's Big Music Show video because Angelique Kidjo had recently won her fourth World Music Grammy (in January 2020). As it turns out, one of the other people who were nominated for that award, Nigeria's Burna Boy, is a huge fan of Angelique Kidjo and had recorded a remix of Kidjo's "Wombo Lombo as a bonus track on his 2013 debut album L.I.F.E..** Undoubtedly, Burna Boy's record " " led some people to Angelique Kidjo's original "Wombo Lombo" song. And there are other covers/remixes of Kidjo's "Wombo Lombo" song on YouTube.

My search for information and examples resulted in this pancocojams series.

I should also mention that I had heard of Angelique Kidjo before she won her latest Grammy Award for World music [January 2020] and I had fallen in love with Angelique Kidjo's song "Agolo"* in the 1990s, after hearing it somewhere and taping it for my personal enjoyment. However, it wasn't until today that I actually knew what that song's title was or that Angelique Kidjo was the one who sang that song.

* Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlgESq5FAx4 for a video of Angelique Kidjo's song "Agolo".

** Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af11CpjX9aE for the official 2013 video of Burna Boy's "Wombolombo".

*** Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwoV1-ykm9E for a video of "Shekere" by Yemi Alade, featuring Angelique Kidjo. I plan to publish a series of pancocojams posts about the song "Shekere". The link to the first post in that series will be included here.

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SOME AFRICANS' AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE'S MEMORIES OF ANGELIQUE KIDJO'S SONG "WOMBO LOMBO" SONG FROM THEIR CHILDHOOD, TEENAGE, OR YOUNG ADULT YEARS

This compilation is only a sample of similar comments that I found online. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

A.
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyMDHccQhzo Angelique Kidjo - "Wombo Lombo"
Published by Angelique Kidjo Jul 1, 2014 [The video given as #1 in Part I of this pancocojams series.]

1. Elizabeth Mirembe, 2014
"When I was in nursery school, we danced to this song as part of our class presentation for the concert :) :)"
-snip-
Another commenter shared that this commenter is Ugandan.

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2. Onye wuchi, 2015
"Was very shock to see my primary school best song"

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3. Rita So Sweet, 2015
"I LISTENED TO THIS SONG IN MY CAR YESTERDAY!!! IF I HADN'T WATCHED JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW THAN I WOULDN'T HAVE NEVER KNOWN THIS SONG EXISTED! THANK U NICK JR! 😄😄 AMAZING SONG!"

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4. coilygurl, 2015
"I became an Angelique fan as a kid when this video used to come on BET! I still love it! If only I knew all of the words!!"

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REPLY
5. SootheSayinYaySayer, 2016
"this was on BET?"
-sniphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BET
From "Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American pay television channel that is part of the ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks unit of ViacomCBS. It is the most prominent television network targeting African American audiences"...


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6. Elizabeth O'Brien, 2016
"Rodrick Edmund Brown I 1st saw this on Jack's Big Music Show, a childrens' music program, and I've loved her since! Beautiful, makes me feel amazing... regardless that I do not understand all of the lyrics. The music, her voice & the overall beauty of the dance, dress & feel, just feels good. ❤"

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7. Brendan Power, 2017
"Shout out to my dad who played this to me as a young kid growing up in rural Ireland. Funny to look back on the words I would invent to fit the Yoruba part :)"


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8. Ladyflo, 2018
"Please take me back to 1996 to ghana when i was 7. I want to listen to this again with the other kids from our block, run around in the DIRT and scrape my knee, eat real natural cultural food and get excited when we went out for chips or fried rice haha, watch tv programmes from peoples windows who could afford satellite tv, play under the moon during power cuts, catch up on acapulco bay, esmeralda, aladdin and by the fireside, climb almond trees, blow soap bubbles from the soapy water someone used when they did their washing by hand etc #Luckytobeafricanandborninafrica"


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9. Nana Akwesi, 2018
"😭 I love this song! It has always been my favorite... I think Fan milk Ghana 🇬🇭 used it to advertise their products when i was young! Its a beautiful song!"

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10. Spn Nangolo, 2018
"Stil a hit in 2019 was probly 6 when it made ma ears come for the 1st time..MUCH LUV FROM NAMIBIA"


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11. Munie Balkyz, 2018
"I was 6yrs in 1997 and I had a friend called Yabbe, so this song made happy because I always thought that she was singing about my friend when she said si yabe"

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12. The ofcourse TV, 2018
"I will be 27 years in 2 weeks. When I was 12, I usually hear radio stations play this song and it puts me in a very good mood😀😀,, like it makes my travel so far in a chilly peaceful zone. I love you "Africa!!


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13. Erin Threlkeld, 2019
"First heard this in the movie Sahara. One of the few good things to come from that B movie"
-snip-
There are several movies with the title "Sahara". I'm not sure which movie this commenter (and others) referred to.

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14. Muchinah Mungai, 2019
"So it's Wombo Lombo and not 'wamarabo'.That's how me and many other kids from Central Kenya used to sing the chorus."


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15. Rufai Sarki, 2020

"You need to be 17yrs old in 1996 to enjoy this song better, I was 😍 We partied well"

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16. voice of Africa1, 2020
"
"This song made my child hood, I never knew she was African, it was the same period with Patra, and late Brenda Fassie"

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17. voice of Africa1, 2020
"This song made my child hood, I never knew she was African, it was the same period with Patra, and late Brenda Fassie"

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18. Seun Akioye, 2020
"I refuse to see my Angelique as Mama, she was my crush as a teenager."

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19. Kolawole Babatunde, 2020
"Proud of African Nigeria. I swear can't do without listening to this beautiful music when I was a little boy back in Nigeria on our black and white television, God bless Nigeria, 2020 still banging on my head right now"

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B. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hcwTNWXGDA Angelique Kidjo - Wombo Lombo
Raymond Beck Dec 12, 2011 [sound file]

1. ogounlurker, 2011
"remembering this on BET when it had some flava!!!!! 90's"

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2. UGottaKnowThis, 2013
"I heard this song on Jack Big Music Show while watching it with my son. The video is fun to watch. It always gets my foot tapping to the beat. Wait.... I think I'm going to get up and dance! LOL Peace"

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3. Tamson Jack, 2013
"Aw, I'm feeling so nostalgic, I used to love this as a kid. So happy I found it again :)"

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4. Half-Blood Prince, 2016
"6 years old, my mom ironing my dads shirt for work, and I'm dancing in the corner. 24 now, I'll forever love this song."

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C. From https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858646191/ Sunday, August 15, 2010
ANGELIQUE KIDJO AFRICANA SPECIAL
Blogger- Unknown
"This is a song from my childhood "Wombo Lombo". It was a pleasant surprise to see it on 'Nick Jr' recently. Oh wow! how the world has become globalized? All thanks to new media.”...

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

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Visitor comments are welcome.