Five YouTube Videos Of Congolese Soukous Gospel Music (with some information about Soukous music)

Asaph du ciel, Jan 10, 2017

Pasteur Asaph du ciel
-snip-
Google results from French English: "La Louange des aigles" = "The Praise of the Eagles"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5dcczS2GsE

Total # of views as of September 12, 2022 at 8:26 AM ET= 25,434,695
****

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about Soukous music>>

This post also showcases five YouTube videos of Congolese Soukous Gospel music and dance.
Selected comments from one of these video's discussion threads are also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks to all those who produced and published these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/congolese-sebene-seben-music-dance.html for a related pancocojams post entitled "Congolese Sebene (Seben) Music & Dance (videos and information)"

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INFORMATION ABOUT SOUKOUS MUSIC
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soukous
"Soukous (from French secousse, "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville.[1] It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improvisation,[2] and gained popularity in the 1980s in France.[3] 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 and longer dance sequences.[3] Notable performers of the genre include Franco Luambo, Papa Wemba, Sam Mangwana, Tabu Ley Rochereau, and Pépé Kallé.[2]"
-snip-
Soukous music and dance can be non-religious (secular) or religious (Christian).

****
Excerpt #2
From https://www.masterclass.com/articles/soukous-music-guide Soukous Music Genre: A Brief History of Soukous Music, by MasterClass, Last updated: Aug 6, 2021

"What Is Soukous?

Soukous is a fast-paced, guitar-driven form of African dance music that originated in the former sovereign state of Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or Congo-Brazzaville, during the late 1960s. It derives its name from “secouer,” the French word for “shake,” a likely nod to the movement that the rhythmic musical form encourages.

Like many forms of popular African music, soukous is a hybrid of different global sounds: Congolese folk music, American rock ‘n’ roll and soul, and Latin and Caribbean jazz and dance rhythms. Soukous’s global reach extends beyond that of other African dance music styles due to the devoted following in Paris, France, and other European countries, as well as a mix of modern soukous stars, such as Kanda Bongo Man, Rigo Star, and Loketo, featuring guitarist Diblo Dibala and vocalist Aurlus Mabele.

West Africans refer to soukous as “congo music.” In Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, it’s known as “Lingala,” a reference to the Bantu language used for many soukous songs. Some countries, such as Zambia and Zimbabwe, still refer to soukous as Congolese rumba, rumba Lingala, or African rumba: a name given to Afro-Cuban music that Congolese bands in the DRC’s capital city of Kinshasa played in the 1930s and 1940s."

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Proclaim - Awesome Gospel



PROCLAIM MKC, Oct 27, 2015 Proclaim worship Experience 2014 -snip- Proclaim is a Gospel group from Uganda. The lead singer, some of the other membes of the group, and some of the musicians (such as the lead guitarist) are from the Congo. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/03/two-videos-of-awesome-god-by-proclaim.html for a 2017 pancocojams post showcasing two videos of Proclaim performing this song with selected comments. According to some of those comments, this song is sung in English, French, and Lingala or a similar Congolese language. -snip- Total # of views as of September 12, 2022 8:47 AM = 13,301,783 **** ****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: CONGOLESE GOSPEL DEBORAH LUKALU TENDA/CALL ME FAVOUR LIVE |OFFICIAL VIDEO|

Deborah LUKALU, Nov. 30, 2018
-snip-
Total # of views as of September 12, 2022 at 9:02 AM ET = 9,042,826 **** SHOWCASE VIDEO #4: We Are Zamar - Dance Like Never Before Praise - 2 April 2017(Seben)
We are Zamar, April 12, 2017 -snip-
Total # of views as of September 12, 2022 at 9:04 AM ET = 3,352,585 **** SHOWCASE #5: Emanuel - Sebene

ERICK MUKEBO TV, May 27, 2016
-snip- Is Emanuel the title of this song? What is the name of this music group? Total # of views as of September 12, 2022 at 9:24 AM ET = 756,342

Here's information about Sebene (also given as "Seben") From https://www.definitions.net/definition/sebene "The Sebene is a kind of instrumental bridge typically executed on the electric guitar and is a characteristic element of the Congolese rumba. The development of the sebene in congolese music has been credited to both Franco Luambo, but it predates both of them with Congolese guitarist Henri Bowane being the reputed inventor in the 1940s. In the sebene, one or more guitarists repeat short phrases, while the lead player improvises around the theme."

** From https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2018/12/the-roots-of-soukous Seben Heaven: The Roots of Soukous 

Mapping the evolution of a defining Congolese sound, from Cuban origins through to its accelerated final form

December 7, 2018 By Morgan Greenstreet
..." The influence of Cuban Son is clear on the massive hit “Marie Louise,” recorded in 1948 by Wendo Kolosoy and Henri Bowane. Bowane’s brief but energetic guitar solos hint at developments to come, invoking the sound of traditional likembe thumb pianos – best known worldwide as a mbira – and stringed instruments played across the region. In the bars of Kinshasa, Bowane reportedly stretched these solos into an extended dancing section, which became known locally as seben(e)."...
-snip- This portion of that sentence is given in italic to highlight it.

-snip-

Here are a few comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:

1. Emmanuel Mwania, 2016
"First class seben.That drummer is good."

**
2. Wendy Rych, 2017
"love congolese people and their worship to God"

**
3. Business Logistics, 2017
"Erick what a different rendering of "Emmanuel" this one is. I have never heard this version. What is he saying?

**
Reply
4. Peacefull king, 2017 
He is singing it in Tshiluba with some add-on stuffs

**
5. elkanah ongeri, 2019
"Always blessed with this great praising of God"

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6. Hash P Mwarumba, 2019
"Its really awesome. I love Congolese music. Good seben. Let God be glorified."

**
7. Mic Reuben, 2019
"Bass is so good my the might God bless you"

**
8. Mireille Kepko, 2020
"J’aime cette chanson et cet homme en rouge il a de l’onction.... very nice song 👏👏"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English:
"I like this song and this man in red he has anointing.... very nice song 👏👏"
-snip-
This comment refers to a man in the audiencedancing

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9.  Purity Chepngeno, 2022
"Blessings all the way....."

**
10. Nico John, 2022
"Congolese are great musicians and dancers!"

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How Congolese Soukous Guitarist Burkina Faso (Mboka Liya) Got His Stage Name & Other Information (with YouTube videos & sound file)

Odhis Jahburu, Feb. 9, 2013
 
Burkina Faso! Burkina Faso! Mboka Liya!!! live with JB and Wenge BCBG -snip- A commenter wrote that this performance may have occurred in 2006. **** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams presents four YouTube videos and one sound file of the very highly regarded Congolese Soukous guitarist Burkina Faso (Mboka Liya). The summary statements from some of these YouTube videos/sound files present some historical information about how Burkina Faso including got his nickname.

 (Unfortunately, there isn't a Wikipedia page on Mboka Liya as of September 10, 2022 although he is mentioned in a few other Wikipedia pages such as 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenge_Musica .)

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes. All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to Burkina Faso (Mboka Liya) for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who published these showcased videos/sound files on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. **** PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE Here's a brief excerpt about the African nation named "Burkina Faso" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkina_Faso :

[Burkina Faso] "is a landlocked country in West Africa [that is] bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest. It has a population of 20,321,378.[10] Previously called Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), it was renamed Burkina Faso by President Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabè (/bɜːrˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bur-KEE-nə-beh), and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.

The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries. They established powerful kingdoms such as the Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. In 1896, it was colonized by the French as part of French West Africa; in 1958, Upper Volta became a self-governing colony within the French Community. In 1960, it gained full independence with Maurice Yaméogo as President."...

-end of quote-  https://www.britannica.com/place/Burkina-Faso indicates that "The name Burkina Faso, which means “Land of Incorruptible People”.
-end of quote-

Based on what I've read*, musician Malembe Chant gave the Congolese guitarist Vincent Kasongo the nickname "Burkina Faso" because Kasongo [had come] "fresh from the village" shortly before Malembe Chant happened upon him playing his guitar in the streets. Burkina Faso is a small, poor West African nation that Malembe Chant obviously considered "country" * compared to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

To support this position about why the now very highly regarded Congolese guitarist was given the nickname "Burkina Faso" and is also called "Mboka Liya", according to Google translate the Lingala meaning for "mboka" is "country". Google translate from Lingala to English doesn't give any results for "liya" or "lia". ("Mboka Liya" is also given as "Mboka Lia").

*One meaning for the adjective "country" to describe people is "people from rural areas who aren't sophisticated (cosmopolitan) like people from the city". Read the information about how Vincent Kasongo was given the name "Burkina Faso" in the summary for the sound file that is immediately below.

Additions and corrections are very welcome.

**** SHOWCASE YOUTUBE SOUND FILE - 🎸Bourkina Faso Mboka Liya🎸 Wenge Guitar Melodies 🎶(1990's-2000's)🎶



Afro World Musique🎶, Sep 13, 2017 [This sound file is slightly more than 2 hours in length).

FEATURING THE BEST OF MBOKA LIYA!!! Good Congolese Music!!

Helloooo! Bonjour!! Holla!!!!! Welcome to the volume of Sebenology, this time featuring the talented Bourkina Faso Mboka Liya! In 1986 at Kingasani, he was a cabri seller. One day, he will be surprised by Malembe Chant (musician of victoria Eleison) playing guitar. He was invited by Malembe Chant to join his band Select Musica where he mentored the young musicians of his neighborhood Kisangani but Serge Kasongo refused, according to him he risked being ridiculed by the Kinois as he came fresh from the village and his accent "Lingala" was not Kinois.

After being convinced by Malembe Chant, Serge Kasongo will join select Musica where he will be christened Burkinafaso Le Mugu Mugamba by Malembe Chant.    

Under the supervision of Malambe Chant, Burkinafaso will become a great guitarist in Kingasani before being known throughout the city of Kinshasa. 

When he opted to play in a large orchestra, he preferred Choc stars of Ben Nyamabo. He is from Bandundu, his whereabouts, some say Bayanzi, some say Muyaka, its a never-ending mystery lol.  In the mid-late 1990's, he started "le pigeon voyageur" he went back in forth between Defao's Big Stars (Amour Interdit, Sala Noki, Les Carlots, Amour Scolaire) and Wenge BCBG (Titanic, Zenith, Olympia, T.H., Pentagone, Boston Live, Abidjan Live). He also played with Bozi Boziana's Anti Choc at a couple time (Ma Raison d'Etre; Heros Ya Congo).

Around 2000, he left Wenge BCBG for Wenge Maison Mere de Werrason and was featured in the successful Bercy concert. Atalaku Bill Clinton Kalondji was enthusiastic by his style that he coined specific animations just for him on "Terrain Eza Mine" (2000). Burkina and Maison Mere participated couple of concerts related to the release of Werrason's solo album "Kibuisa Mpimpa/Operation Dragon" (2001) where he plays on Operation Dragon generique, Annie and Le Vent de Soir. In 2004, he will return to Wenge BCBG and be featured on Anti Terro and featured in some concerts. Again "Le Pigeon Voyageur", he's always looking for some projects to work. Currently settled in London, England, he accompanies artists on concerts such as Kanda Bongo Man, Renato Mundele (also played with Defao), Jeannot Bell (check out the channel Soukous Congo), Nzaya Nzayadio (also was in Choc Stars), etc. Plesir!"...

**** SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEO #2: THE CRAFT OF SOUKOUS GUITAR BY BURKINA FASO MBOKA LIYA

Stv Pro, July 5, 2012

This is 1:40 Hour tutorial DVD, 20 gruelling Exercises plus lots of professional advice ,In this tutorial DVD Mr Mboka is demonstrating slowly how he played those famous solo guitar (licks) Burkina Faso whose real name is Vincent Kasongo Kiamfu. One day while playing guitar Malembe Chant saw him and invited him to join his band Select Musica. Malembe Chant finally convinced him and he joined the band, Malembe baptised him Burkina Faso Mugu Mugamba. It is well-known Master of the Congolese music. Later he joined Choc Stars and with them he made his first recording, it was Debaba's song Pafuti. He also played for a while with Anti Choc and Defao & Big Stars and he recorded the song ( L'Amour Scolaire in 1992).As well as Madilu System , Gataux Beven and Many More ... In 1994 Fataki Tabou left Wenge Musica 4x4 for Viva la Musica and Burkina Faso left Big Stars to replace him, Mbokaliya and Alain Makaba were two top class guitarists . When Wenge split he joined Werrason in Maison Mere but later re-joined JB Mpiana in BCBG. Burkina Faso had already played songs like Kapita, Pacte du vin, Nazareth and many others of JB Mpiana and BCBG while he was with Select Musica, these songs were later sold to JB Mpiana's band by a former member of Select Musica called Senado, an older brother of Chai Ngenge. Being restless he also left JB Mpiana and created his own band Wenge Tout Terrain which he left in the middle of the recording of a maxi single to join Nouvelle Ecriture as a third guitarist. For his band members this was a big disillusion and his fans were angry as well, they hoped he would not last long with Papa Wemba. With wengeBCBG he played on some songs on " feux de l'amour" and also some important concerts in Europe and USA , Canada and Africa . Now Burkina Faso is based in London- England as freelance session and Private guitar teacher. -snip-
I reformatted this summary to increase its readability.

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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEO #3: Seben Burkina Faso

MAT A DIT ET TOI?, Jun 16, 2018

**** SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEO #4: 👉BURKINAFASSO MBOKALIYA : MES ŒUVRES PARLENT À MA PLACE💥

Papy Masuta HD, Oct 21, 2020

nous poursuivons notre rubrique sur les artistes dont le role a parfois été ignoré. j'aimerais aujourdhui vous parler d'un autre soliste pas comme les autres, au nom de Serge Kasongo Mbokaliya, plus connu sous le pseudo de Burkinafaso. C'est l'un des plus grands solistes guitaristes de la RDCONGO de la génération wenge musica 4x4 en 1994, viva la musica, proche de choc stars, anti choc, big stars, wenge bcbg, wenge maison mére, minzoto wela wela etc, abonnez-vous gratuitement sur papy masuta hd. -snip-
Google translate from French to English:
"we continue our column on artists whose role has sometimes been overlooked. Today I would like to talk to you about another soloist like no other, in the name of Serge Kasongo Mbokaliya, better known under the pseudonym Burkinafaso. He is one of the greatest guitar soloists of the DRCONGO of the wenge musica 4x4 generation in 1994, viva la musica, close to choc stars, anti choc, big stars, wenge bcbg, wenge maison mére, minzoto wela wela etc, subscribe for free on papy masuta hd. "
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Visitor comments are welcome.

Congolese Sebene (Seben) Music & Dance (videos and information)

label Jeericho, Jun 20, 2015 Nouveau titre de ferre Gola à découvrir !!! -snip- Google translate from French to English: "New title of ferre Gola to discover!!!" total # of views as of Sept. 9, 2022 at 10:12 AM ET = 4,052,000 ****
Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases fIve videos of Congolese Sebene (also known as "Seben") music and dance.

This post also presents information about Sebene music.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who helped create Congolese Sebene music and dance. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/five-youtube-videos-of-congolese.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Five YouTube Videos Of Congolese Soukous Gospel Music (with some information about Soukous music)".

**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Sebene Music Congolese By Jonathan TSHITAMBA



JSS Records, Nov 4, 2016 

Celebrating 4 years as a young musician
-snip-
Total # of views as of September 9, 2022 at   AM ET = 749,922

**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #3:  ASAPH DU CIEL - La Louange des aigles (CLIP OFFICIEL)

Asaph du Ciel, Jan 10, 2017

Pasteur Asaph du ciel -snip-
This is an example of Sebene Gospel music. This video has a total # of 25,369,656 views as of September 7, 2022 at 10:05 AM ET. **** SHOWCASE VIDEO #4: Auguy Nyembo - SEBEN CONGO au studio.(Official Video)

Augustin Nyembo Official, Dec 26, 2019  Une séance d’enregistrement avec les amis [Google translate from French to English: "A recording session with friends"]

Drum & Percussion : Auguy Nyembo

Guitar: Alfred solo

Bass: Jim Bass -snip- # of views as of September 9, 2022 at 11:15 AM ET= 182,085 -snip- Here are three comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only.] 1. Yinka Oluwole, 2020 "Whenever I listen to a soukous/makossa song, I always look forward to the guitar solo, I just love good seben guitar work...

In addition to that, I have ultimate respect for bass guitarists too, in my head I think of them like a father who puts his son(the solo guitar) on a bicycle and say "Go ahead son, be creative, have all the fun you want, but you can always trust that I won't let you fall cos I'm behind you all the time"..

Amazing work, fellas.. 👏🏾👏🏾 ** 2. Blessing Angel, 2020 "Ça c'est mon bassiste congolais. Bassiste de Michel Bakenda 🙏

Demeure béni big man" -snip- Google translate from French to English: "That's my Congolese bassist. Bassist of Michel Bakenda 🙏 Abide blessed big man"

** 3. Misheck Mudiayi, 2021 "Pure seben nice sound"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5: Acceleration (SEBENE) Congolese Wedding Entrance | WAKALI

K.K.T Productions, Oct 1, 2020 

#WEDDINGENTRANCE#WAKALI#KKT -snip- Total # of views as of September 9, 2022 at 10:59 AM ET = 135,050 My guess is that "Acceleration" is the name of the group that performed this music.  Notice the custom that is shown in this video of "spraying" ("showering") the dancers with paper money. I think that this custom started in Nigeria, but it is done in a number of African nations. For instance, during wedding celebrations the bride and groom are sprayed with paper money and in the midst of their performances, singers are sprayed with paper money. **** SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SEBENE MUSIC These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. Excerpt #1 From https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2018/12/the-roots-of-soukous Seben Heaven: The Roots of Soukous

Mapping the evolution of a defining Congolese sound, from Cuban origins through to its accelerated final form

 December 7, 2018 By Morgan Greenstreet
…."Congolese music had been popular across the African continent for over three decades before it made much of an impact in Europe. Early examples are often slow in tempo, featuring close harmony singing, bouncy light percussion and, perhaps most importantly, virtuosic guitar playing. This unique style of local popular music was simultaneously developed in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) and Brazzaville, the capital cities of the Belgian and French colonies on either side of the Malembo pool of the Congo river.

In the ’30s, local amateurs began taking inspiration from traditional music, French popular music and American jazz. Son cubano records heard floating through Radio Congo Belge, and imported physically on the G.V. series, played an especially key role. By the late ’40s local labels including Ngoma, Longingisa and Opika – all run by Greek immigrant entrepreneurs – began recording Congolese musicians and exporting their records internationally. The musicians often sang in phonetic Spanish or French, the language of the oppressor, but increasingly preferred Lingala, a trade language that crossed ethnic and regional barriers. Lingala has a sweetness and flexibility that lends itself to poetry which helped push the music far beyond the twin cities on river.

This music became known as rumba Congolaise because the imported records of Sexteto Habanero and Trio Matamoros were mislabeled rumba, an entirely different Afro-Cuban folkloric music. The influence of Cuban Son is clear on the massive hit “Marie Louise,” recorded in 1948 by Wendo Kolosoy and Henri Bowane. Bowane’s brief but energetic guitar solos hint at developments to come, invoking the sound of traditional likembe thumb pianos – best known worldwide as a mbira – and stringed instruments played across the region. In the bars of Kinshasa, Bowane reportedly stretched these solos into an extended dancing section, which became known locally as seben(e).

Once the seben arrived, there was no going back to the verse, similar to how the montuno functions in salsa music.

The prevailing theory is that the word seben entered Lingala at the same time as the acoustic guitar, introduced to the region by a community of sailors and dockworkers from Sierra Leone, Dahomey (now Benin) and Ghana, who came to the Congo basin in the ’20s and ’30s. Seventh chords were commonplace in their proto-Highlife, even barking out ”seven” to signal the musical changes in the solo section. The seben became more central to Congolese music as early pioneers reconfigured and revolutionized their relationship with the instruments in their hands.

[…]

Just as ‘Afrobeats’ today is used as an umbrella marketing term to promote different styles of popular African music to Western audiences, ‘soukous’ was chosen by Island Records producer Ben Mandelson and Togolese entrepreneur Richard Dick as the title of a 1982 compilation, Sound D'Afrique II: Soukous. The compilation included music from Mali and Cameroon alongside “Madeleina,” a tune off Pablo ‘Porthos’ Lubadika’s 1981 album Ma Coco, which had been a head-turner in Europe. The tempo is hot from beginning to end, with a steady kick underpinning sizzling hi-hats, and guitars that are bright as the midday sun..”…
-snip-
I added italics to these portions of this excerpt to highlight them.

Sebene (also given as "Seben") is found in both secular and religious Congolese music.

****
Excerpt #2
From https://www.definitions.net/definition/sebene#:~:text=Wikipedia-,Sebene,element%20of%20the%20Congolese%20rumba.
"Sebene

The Sebene is a kind of instrumental bridge typically executed on the electric guitar and is a characteristic element of the Congolese rumba. The development of the sebene in congolese music has been credited to both Franco Luambo, but it predates both of them with Congolese guitarist Henri Bowane being the reputed inventor in the 1940s. In the sebene, one or more guitarists repeat short phrases, while the lead player improvises around the theme."

****
Excerpt #3
From https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.738.1531&rep=rep1&type=pdf McGuinness, Sara E. (2011) Grupo Lokito: a practice-based investigation into contemporary links between Congolese and Cuban popular music. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London
[page] 19

…"T.2.2 Congolese Music

When talking about the structure of Congolese music there are two versions of the spelling for the term referring to last part of the song, the seben. I have chosen to spell the word ‘seben’. I have observed that older writings on Congolese music use ‘sebene’, which I believe must be a French spelling of the word. In a recent work on music-making in Kinshasa (White, 2008), Bob W. White opted for ‘seben’. I concur with White as ‘sebene’ is not a Lingala spelling of the word and, in my experience of working with Congolese musicians, communication has been in Lingala. Indeed several of the musicians have little or

[page] 20

no French. I have always heard the word pronounced ‘SE-ben’, with the emphasis slightly on the first syllable. In Lingala, ‘sebene’ would be pronounced ‘se-ben-ay’, which I have only heard in the 1948 recording of Marie Louise by Henri Bowane and Wendo Kolossoyi. The consensus among the modern-day Congolese musicians I canvassed, indeed their adamant opinion, suggests the spelling should be ‘seben’."...

****
Excerpt #4
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo
"Congolese music is one of the most influential music of the African continent since the 1930s. Congolese musicians had a huge impact on the African musical scene and outside. Many contemporary genres of music were created or heavily influenced by Congolese music. As the genre of music in Kenya Benga or in Colombia Champeta. Democratic republic of Congo and (Republic of Congo ) are contemporary hub music in Africa since the 1930s /50s. Congolese rumba joined in 2021, other living traditions such as Jamaican reggae music and Cuban rumba on Unesco's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list. Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo varies in its different forms. Outside Africa, most music from the Democratic Republic of Congo is called Soukous, which most accurately refers instead to a dance popular in the late 1960s. The term rumba or rock-rumba is also used generically to refer to Congolese music, though neither is precise nor accurately descriptive.

People from the Congo have no single term for their own music per se, although muziki na biso ("our music") was used until the late 1970s, and now the most common name is ndule, which simply means music in the Lingala language; most songs from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are sung in Lingala.

[…]

Big bands (c. 1950–70)

Into the 1950s, Kinshasa and Brazzaville became culturally linked, and many musicians moved back and forth between them, most importantly Nino Malapet and one of the founders of OK Jazz, Jean Serge Essous. Recording technology had evolved to allow for longer playing times, and the musicians focused on the seben, an instrumental percussion break with a swift tempo that was common in rumba. Both OK Jazz and African Jazz continued performing throughout the decade until African Jazz broke up in the mid-1960s, TPOK Jazz with Franco Luambo Makiadi[1] at the helm dominated soukous music for the next 20 years.”…
-snip-
I added italics to highligh tthis passage.

****
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