54 years ago today the Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence from Belgium. To mark the occasion Kinshasa producer/rapper Alec Lomami assembled his favorite dance tracks from the DRC for a special Congolese Independence mix entitled Sebene: Buka Loketo.
Said Alec, "When people speak of DRC music there's a lot said about Tabu Ley, Franco, Papa Wemba, Mbilia Bel etc...and I love all those guys, but as a young kind growing up in DRC those guys were the music of my parents, we were more into Wenge and Koffi. And their music was heard all over the continent. It was the soundtrack of the club and parties. So I wanted to give a nod to that aspect of Congolese music. I still think we have the best guitar riff on the continent ;)"
The 56-minute tape was mixed by Alec's partner in crime (and Immaculate Taste's in-house producer) Lucho. Listen to Sebene: Buka Loketo (see below for Alec's explanation of the title) and scroll on for the full tracklist along with two videos Alec shared with us for visual aid.
"Most Congolese songs have a singing part followed by a dancing part, which is where the tempo goes up a bit (called the “sebene”). Growing up I used to want to be an atalaku. An atalaku is like an MC but not in the sense of a rapper. He's the one singing during the "sebene." So I named the mix Sebene: Buka Loketo (Buka Loketo means shake your hips, since pretty much most of our dances involves some sorts of hips shakin')"
Alec Lomami's Sebene: Buka Loketo Congolese Independence Mix Tracklist
1. JB Mpiana - Ndombolo
2. Koffi Olomide - Loi
3. Wenge Musica - Kalayi Boeing
4. Wenge Musica - Kin Ebouge
5. Wenge Musica - Pentagone
6. Koffi Olomide - Attantat
7. Werrason - Ca sonne
8. Koffi Olomide - Danger de Mort
9. Werrason - Tindika Lokito
10. Koffi Olomide - Effrakata
11. Ferre Gola - joao ndomele
12. Werrason - Sous Sol
13. Koffi Olomide - Ultimatum
14. Les Marquis - Desespoire
15. JB Mpiana - Mpunda
