One of Africa’s most well-known artists, Congolese songwriter, singer, and bandleader Tabu Ley Rochereau passed away at the age of 76; the attraction of his music transcended racial, linguistic, and national boundaries. He wrote countless songs, and beginning in the late 1950s, the “internationalized” Congolese rumba style known as soukous gave him considerable recognition and wealth. Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu was born in the Bandundu province, which is east of Kinshasa. He belonged to the local church choir and his mother was a griot, a singer and storyteller. Following a study in French politics in school, he decided to take the name Rochereau.
Where is Tabu Ley Rochereau from?
Leading African rumba singer and songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tabu Ley Rochereau. He was the founder of Orchestre Afrisa International and a vocalist and songwriter who had a significant impact on Africa.
In 1953, Joseph Kabasele, also known as Le Grand Kallé, founded the band African Jazz in what is now Kinshasa (then Léopoldville), the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
