MetaFilter posts tagged with Kinshasa

Fighting boys, strong men and gorillas

Smedleyman — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:35:15 -0800

At nightfall youth gangs transform the streets of Kinshasa's townships into arenas of the fight. Although many of these boys and young men are trained in foreign fighting styles such as judo, jujitsu and karate, in the public clashes between the fighting groups, these boys and young men perform mukumbusu. This fighting style, inspired and based on the gorilla, was invented during the last decade of colonialism, and is an original mixture of a traditional Mongo wrestling practice, libanda, and Asian and Western fighting practices. An essay from Edinburgh University's Center of African Studies (PDF - or accessmylibrary link) More on race and African martial arts and Africa, America, Identity and African martial arts (and plenty of other stuff) from Lloyd De Jongh.

Staff Benda Bilili

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:30:19 -0800

The other day I happened to come upon a music video that is just so grooving, so human and so real, that, well, it moved me, darling. Just check it out. After watching the clip, I learned that these guys are mostly disabled by polio (that's why several of them are in those rather unusual wheelchairs) and that they were living on the grounds of the Kinshasa zoo, which is where the clip was filmed. Then I learned that last year they were seeking to bring a lawsuit against the UN. Then I found some other clips. And now I am a major fan of Staff Benda Bilili. And how 'bout that totally awesome ultra-high-pitched musical bow that young man is playing? Is that not the coolest instrument ever? Here's a short interview I found, with UN press officer Kemal Saiki, concerning the allegations against the UN by Staff Benda Bilili. Here's an article concerning African disabled musicians, including Staff Benda Bilili, called Music from the Motherland. And this recent article from The Independent mentions Staff Benda Bilili in its last paragraph. Referring to "Na Lingi Yo" (the tune featured prominently in this FPP) the article says: "It was worth coming all this way just to hear that one song." A blog entry that I came across, on the video, from last year.

The Society for Leisure Lovers and Elegant Persons

maryh — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 22:40:52 -0800

To be a Sapeur in Kinshasa is to treat every trash-strewn alley or muddy street as a fashion catwalk. Inspired by Congolese rumba star Papa Wemba* and his Société des Ambianceurs et Persons Élégants* (le Sape), urban peacocks cheerfully adopted "Religion Kitembo”, literally the worship of clothes. "The Pope of the Sapes" himself appears to have undergone a conversion since his recent legal troubles. Photo gallery by Héctor Mediavilla. *sound

Congotronics

Robot Johnny — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 20:55:03 -0800

Congotronics! Mawangu Mingiedi, 72, a musician and truck driver from Kinshasa, was simply trying to allow the music of his street band, Konono No. 1, be heard over the traffic and street noise, but when he fashioned home-made amplifiers out of junkyard parts he created something raw and distorted with a sound all its own (quicktime). (via MonkeySARS, where an MP3 awaits you)

Konono No. 1: Tradi-modern music from Kinshasa

jokeefe — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 10:18:28 -0800

Konono No. 1 "This band is one of the main exponents of a spectacular style of music which has developed in the suburbs of Kinshasa (DR Congo). The Congolese call it "tradi-modern", in other words: electrified traditional music. These are musicians who left the bush to settle in the capital and who, in order to go on keep fulfilling their social role and make themselves heard by the ancestors (and, more concretely, by their fellow citizens) despite the high level of urban noise, have had to resort to DIY amplification of their instruments, and to megaphones (conical speakers). This makeshift electrification has provoked a radical mutation of their sound, as it has introduced distortions which they have integrated to their style. [...] The band's line-up includes three electric likembés [thumb pianos] (bass, medium and treble), equipped with hand-made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, and plugged into amplifiers." Via womanonfire.