Filipe Mukenga

Francisco Felipe da Conceição Gumbe, known by his artistic name Filipe Mukenga (born 7 September 1949), is an Angolan singer and composer. He is famous for songs such as Humbi humbi, Nvula, and Hailwa Yange Oike Mbela.

Biography Mukenga was born on 7 September 1949 in Luanda. He was partly raised in Massabi, in Cabinda province.

His stage name came while performing as part of Duo Misoso with José Agostinho Nvunje, during which time he became interested in languages native to Angola such as Umbundu and Kwanyama. During this time period as well, he became involved with the Youth of MPLA as part of their musical section, and later served on the National Cultural Council, the precursor to the current Ministry of Culture, Tourism and the Environment. His contemporaries during the 1970s and beyond included André Mingas, Filipe Zau, Rui Veloso, and Waldemar Bastos.

With Zau, his longtime musical partner, they won the Common Ground Music Award in 2008, presented by Search for Common Ground.

He met Brazilian singer Djavan while he was visiting Angola as part of the Kalunga Project, with Mukenga joining Canto Livre de Angola and touring in Brazil. He would later return at multiple points to Brazil and collaborate with artists such as Ney Matogrosso, Zélia Duncan, and Cássia Eller. He has also collaborated extensively with Underground Sound of Lisbon, such as performing together on the 1998 benefit album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon with the song Hailwa Yange Oike Mbela. The album was created by the AIDS-awareness organization Red Hot Organization to bring awareness to the disease in the Portuguese-speaking world. They later collaborated on the song "African Dreams" in 2000.

Mukenga had lived in Lisbon, Portugal from 1992 to 2004, when he returned to Angola.

Discography CDs Novo Som (CD, Emi-VC, 1991) Kianda Kianda (CD, Lusáfrica, 1994) Mimbu Iami (CD, 2003) Nós Somos Nós (CD, Ginga, 2009) O Meu Lado Gumbe (2013)

Singles & other productions 1998 - Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon (with Underground Sound of Lisbon) 1999 - African Dreams - Underground Sound of Lisbon 2005 - Collaboration with Maurício Mattar 2007 - Sons da Fala