Two days ago, I received this email;
Afrisong Records
Fri, Mar 17, 4:25 PM (2 days ago)
to moos
Moos,
this is to inform you: my dear friend Lokassa Ya Mbongo of the Soukous Stars has passed away after a long illness. his friends worldwide will like to know. please do a nice celebration of life for him. keep up the good work.
regards
Mannie Mensah
Afrisong Records
Good morning groovers,
Ofcourse I could not ignore,
in this article we honour Ballou
Canta, but especially Congo’s late & great rhythm guitarist
Lokassa Ya Mbongo ! Last wednesday Lokassa died age 80.
He was the frontman of ‘Soukous Stars’. Lokassa’s career
spans some 50 years. He played with Tabu Ley Rochereau’s
Afrisa from 1970 to 1978 alongside singers Pepe Ndombe,
Sam Mangwana and Michelino Mavatiku Visi. Later Lokassa
was part of the great Afican All Stars with Dizzy Mandjekou
and Sam Mangwana. Also starring Ringo Moya, Syran, Bopol,
Pablo Lubadika, Theo Blaise Kounkou and others. This album
is with Ballou Canta, one of the other founders of ‘Soukous
Stars’. It came out in 1990, just after the start of Soukous
Stars. Also starring here is Dally Kimoko.
Denis Lokassa Kasiya 1943 – 2023
Rest in Peace Lokassa,
you were one of Congo’s greatest ..
nehanda radio
Lokassa ya Mbongo, Discogs
Ballou Canta, Wikipedia
Ballou Canta, Discogs
Ballou Canta, Samba-La ! 1978
the Best of Lokassa ya M’bongo 1983
Lokassa ya M’Bongo, Bonne Année 1983
Lokassa ya M’Bongo, Assitou Special 81 1981
All African All Stars titles
01 – Adama-diallo
02 – Baine de minuit
03 – Christ-koma
04 – Fifi-mali mousso
05 – Wele-wele
bonus tracks;
06 – Lokassa ya M’Bongo – Angelique
07 – Lokassa ya M’Bongo – Sabina
08 – Lokassa ya M’Bongo – Marie josé
RIP Lokassa.
He also played on many great albums with kanda bongo man (Lela lela, sai, etc) and Pepe Kalle (Tika Makanisi, Nina, L’Argent Ne Fait Pas Le Bonheur etc.).
Once Pepe Kalle was even a singer in a band he was a leader of (FiDeS in the early 1970s)
Thanks for the music as always Moos
Thank you for this Anon, I knew there
was more, just not exactly what. cheers ..
Thank you for this. I discovered hie beautiful guitar playing from this blog. So much good music.
in other news Zippyshare is closing down at the end of the month.
Thanks, as always, Moos.
The demise of Zippyshare is a tragic loss for anyone who has followed Jillem’s Holland Tunnel Dive blog. I personally am so thankful for the breadth and depth of Jillem’s archive, and along with your site it keeps my radio program fresh.
Jillem posted a pristine copy of Nguashi Ntimbo’s Shauri Yako, IMHO one of the all-time greatest African albums. For that I am ever grateful. And, BTW, your Ntimbo postings are excellent and appreciated as well.
peace, robert
I agree Robert, Jillem’s HTD is a treasure trove that
will be sadly missed. I am currently catching up on the
things I’have missed so far. Try to download as much as possible
before the end of the month I’d say. Sincerely hope Jillem is
going to find a way to get back soon. Cheers Robert ..