Performing Arts
Kanda Bongo Man: The place of African music
Friday September 23 2022
Kanda Bongo Man, King of the Soukous dance rhythm on stage. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NMG
When a fresh-faced gap-toothed 18-year-old singer from Kinshasa called Kanda Bongo (later known as Kanda Bongo Man) arrived in France in 1979, there were few opportunities for musicians from Africa.
“When I arrived in Paris, African music was not popular in France and all the record companies, I approached turned me down,” he told the BDLife in an…