Soukous

Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Subjects
Rumba	Madiaba
Mutuashi	Soukous
Folk music	Timeline and Algeria - Burkina Faso - Burundi - Cameroon - Central African Rep. - Comoros - Congo-Brazzaville - Congo-Kinsasha - Côte d'Ivoire - Djibouti - Madagascar - Mali - Mauritius - Morocco - Rwanda - Senegal - Seychelles - Togo - Tunisia

Soukous is a musical genre formed in Zaire and the Congo in the early 20th century. It was originally performed with guitar, likembe (sanza) and bottle. Soukous music has gained exponential popularity throughout the African continent where it is refered to by different names depending on the region. In East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania), Soukous is called Lingala which referes to the trade language of the Congo region from which the music originated. Modern performers of soukous include Diblo Dibala, Souzy Kasseya, Kanda Bongo Man, Fidele Zizi, Victoria, Theo Blaise, Kofi Olomide, Papa Wemba, and Orchestre Virunga.