Nyboma

Nyboma Mwan'dido (or Muan'dido), often simply Nyboma (born 1952), a prominent Congolese soukous tenor vocalist, has been over a fifty-year span a leading member of several outstanding bands, including Orchestre Bella Bella, Orchestre Lipua Lipua, Orchestre Kamale, Les Quatre Étoiles, and Kékélé, in addition to performing and recording as a solo artist. He is widely recognized as one of the best singers in Congolese music.

Biography 1952-1970: Early years and first bands: Baby National and Negro Succès Nyboma was born on 24 December 1952 in Nioki, a river town 200 km northeast of the capital of what at the time was the Belgian Congo, later the Republic of the Congo and Zaire, and is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He learned to sing as a child in Nioki, in the church choir. He sang in the school chorus when his family moved to Kinshasa while he was still in primary school.

1970s: Work with Verckys: Bella Bella, Lipua Lipua, Orchestre Kamale, Les Kamale He then signed with the Editions Veve record label owned by Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta (a soukous recording artist and producer/financier, composer, saxophonist, and band leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He joined the band Orchestre Bella Bella, led by the Soki brothers, in 1972, when it was part of Verckys's stable of artists, until 1973 when its founders left Verckys and Editions Veve. In 1972 Bella Bella's record Mbuta, with Nyboma, was considered the song of the year. Another of Bella Bella's records was called Lipua Lipua, for which Nyboma named his next band in a pattern that continued to the following band. In 1982, he moved to Paris, where he has lived since, except for a period in the United States in the 1990s. The supergroup Les Quatre Etoiles which he founded with three other leading soukous musicians, Bopol, Syran Mbenza, and Wuta Mayi, recorded and toured from 1982 to 1996. The group was a loose arrangement that allowed its four members to pursue their own projects while they were members of Les Quatre Etoiles. Nyboma's 1995 album Anicet was also produced by Sylla, whose signature is evident from the polished, multi-layered songs in the album—including a song in which Nyboma pays tribute to Malcolm X (in a song of the same title) and to Pan-Africanism in a song entitled Abissina.

In a 1990s interview with the journalist Gary Stewart, Nyboma expressed unhappiness with the African music then being made in Paris as being commercial, and lacking feeling: "Commercial music is appreciated here [in Paris]. Because here you don't put in a lot of words. You just put in music that goes, Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! To sell it, just to sell it." "There are a handful of Congolese singers: Franco, Nyboma, Sam Mangwana, Papa Wemba, who have unmistakable and magical voices, capable of transporting you with a few notes," "One of the great singers of Congolese music, Nyboma's tenor voice is airy, effortless and supple,"

Discography The following is based on several sources.

Solo records (or as band leader) Les Editions Vévé présentent l'Orchestre Kamale & son célèbre chanteur Nyomba (or Ayindjo) (1977) Double Double (1981) [back cover credits L'Orchestre les Kamale] DeDe (or De De) (Nyboma & Les Kamale Dynamiques) (1982) Pepe (Nyboma & Les Kamale Dynamiques du Zaire) (1983) Coeur a Coeur (Nyboma & Kamale Dynamique) (1983) Bandona (Nyboma & Les Kamale) (1985) Anicet (1995) Kanta d'Or (2020) Live au Cabaret Sauvage (2020)

Compilations La Voix Danos Canta - Vol. 1/3 1971-1974 Le Mérite De La Musique Congolaise (1995 or 1998) [CD from Glenn Music; with songs of Kamale (actually later than 1974–1975)] La Voix Danos Canta - Vol. 2/3 1972-1974 Le Mérite De La Musique Congolaise (1995 or 1998) [CD from Glenn Music; with songs of Lipua Lipua] La Voix Danos Canta - Vol. 3/3 1974-1975 Le Mérite De La Musique Congolaise (1995 or 1998) [CD from Glenn Music; with songs of various bands] Lipwa Lipwa De Nyboma (1997) [CD from Sonodisc] Kamale & Lipwa Lipwa (1997) [CD from Sonodisc; Nyboma not named on cover, which says "Lipwa Mipwa"] Nyboma & Kamale Dynamique (2005) [CD from Sterns; two tracks from each of Double Double, DeDe, Pepe, Coeur a Couer, and Bandona] Verckys presente Nyboma, La Voix Qui Console (2015) [digital release from Sterns of 1973-75 Lipua Lipua singles)

Featured with other artists Innovation, vol. 6 (Nyboma & Bovi) (1980) Innovation, vol. 7 (Nyboma & Bovi) (1981) Innovation, vol. 8 (Nyboma & Bovi & Kilalo) (1982) Deception Motema (Bopol Mansiamina & Nyboma Mwan'Dido) (1984) Pepe Kalle & Nyboma (or Zouke Zouke or Empire Bakuba: Pepe Kalle & Nyboma) (1986) Tabu Ley, Sacramento avec Canta Nyboma (1986) Moyibi (Pepe Kalle & Nyboma) (1988) Stop Feu Rouge - Voisin (Nyboma & Madilu) (1989 or 1990) Hommage À Emoro (Les Etoiles du Zaire: Pepe Kalle, Nyboma, Bopol) (1992)

As a band member Orchestre Lipua Lipua, [singles, 1973-75] Orchestre Kamale, [singles, 1975-78] Les Kamale, [singles, 1978-79] Les Kamale, Les Kamale (1979) [Sonafric SAF 50.087] Les Kamale, Les Kamale (1979) [Sonafric SAF 61.012; these two albums with identical titles and very similar cover art are different.] Orchestre African All Stars International, Vol. 2 (early 1980s) Orchestre African All Stars International, Vol. 3 (early 1980s) Les Quatre Étoiles, 4 Grandes Vedettes de la Musique Africaine (1983) Les Quatre Étoiles, 4 Stars (or Enfant Bamileke) (1984) Les Quatre Étoiles, Dance (1985) Les Quatre Étoiles, 6 Hits / 6 Tubes (1987) Les Quatre Étoiles, Zairian Stars Show in the US - Kilimanjaro Heritage Hall (1988, live) Les Quatre Étoiles, Four Stars (or Kouame) (1989, live) [may be same as Kilimanjaro live album] Les Quatre Étoiles, Les 4 Etoiles (or Souffrance) (1991) Les Quatre Étoiles, Sangonini (1993) Les Quatre Étoiles, Adama Coly (1995) Les Quatre Étoiles, Live in London (1996, live) Soukouss Force One, Asipo (1998) Kékélé, Rumba Congo (2001) Kékélé, Congo Life (2003) Kékélé, Kinavana (2006) Kékélé, Live: Tournée Américaine & Canadienne (2006)

As a supporting artist [This is a representative sample; there could be dozens, if not hundreds, of disks on this list.] Bopol Mansiamina, Manuela (1983) Koffi Olomide, Rue d'Amour (1987) Koffi Olomide Golden Star, Elle Et Moi (1989) Pepe Kalle, Gérant (1991) Syran Mbenza, Symbiose (1991) Madilu System, Sans Commentaire (1993) Mose Fan Fan and Somo Somo, Hello Hello (1995) Diblo Dibala, Pas Moi (1999) Mbilia Bel, Welcome (2001) Samba Mapangala and Orchestre Virunga, Song & Dance (2006) Wuta Mayi, La Face Cachée (2019)