The reach of congolese music surprises me 🤯
Growing up in the UK , other than in my household and community events , I thought Congolese music weren’t played by non congolese people at all but there was one event that changed that thought. I went to a Zimbabwean and Kenyan wedding in 2018 (I was 16) They played Loi by Koffi Olamide and Ndbombolo by Wenge Musica, a look of shock appeared on my face and all I could do is stare , I couldn’t believe what was going on, they were dancing along and singing along even though they couldn’t understand. Recently, I met this Colombian couple in South London, we were talking and they asked me my ethnicity and when I told them they looked so happy and told me that in a certain part of Colombia , soukous is played heavily and they created their own sub genre called Champeta where they dance with their feet. They showed me videos of the area and if you compared it side by side with kinshasa you wouldn’t be able to tell which is which. As a congolese person , does it surprise you when other people from other cultures know our music ? It does for me maybe because i grew up in an anglophone space and because of my age also . Tell me your thoughts