Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
When Havana Met Kinshasa: The Birth of Congolese Rumba
Long before soukous swept across Africa, a new sound was brewing in the nightclubs of Léopoldville. This episode traces the improbable birth of Congolese rumba in the 1940s and 50s, from the shellac records of Cuban son that made their way across the Atlantic to the smoky bars of the city's African quarters. We meet the pioneering bandleader Joseph Kabasele—Le Grand Kallé—and follow his journey from a young office clerk to the father of a musical movement that would come to define the Congo's struggle for identity under Belgian rule. Along the way, we explore how colonial…
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