Following the death of the musician Papa Wemba, the Congolese government decided to purchase his main residence in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and transform it into a museum celebrating Congolese rumba. 

Papa Wemba 

Papa Wemba’s career began when he joined the music group Zaiko Langa Langa in the late 1960s. Then by becoming a founding member of both Isifi Lokole and then Yoka Lokole,  rumba bands and by participating in Afrisa International, he became successful. During these early stages of his career, he was establishing a style that included traditional Congolese rumba and soukous, infused with traditional African sounds, Caribbean rhythms, rock and soul. However, it was with his band Viva La Musica that Wemba started being internationally recognised. It was right after his band’s show in Paris in the 1980s, that he became particularly recognizable by achieving more of an “eclectic sound” in his work, influenced by western popular music that reflected a European flavour and style, referred to as “Europop’’.

Open to visitors! 

Six years after the death of the Congolese ‘rumba king’, his house has been turned into a museum. The cultural space was opened to the public on the 24th of April 2022. Visitors will be able to discover objects that belonged to Papa Wemba, such as his collection of hats and his musical instruments.

The artist’s villa is above all a place that “tells the story of Congolese rumba”, according to Culture Minister Catherine Kathungu. This story is told through archived photos, songs, music, videos and even a recording studio. Everything is brought together under one roof in this house of culture to celebrate the rumba that has become Congo’s precious cultural heritage.

Rumba; the Pride of Congo 

Congolese rumba, which has grown in popularity in Africa and throughout the world, was included in December 2021 on the list of UNESCO’s articles of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. With its roots in the ancient kingdom of Kongo several centuries ago, traditional Congolese music spread to the West Indies, Cuba and America during the slave trade. During the 1940s these Cuban and Caribbean-influenced sounds returned to the Congo basin and were transformed into the popular form of dance hall music known today as Congolese rumba. 

Congolese rumba  refers not only to music but also to  a varied form including dance and even a style of dress represented by the SAPE (Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elégantes). An unofficial youth subculture begunbegan by Papa Wemba in the 1970s in Zaire which mixes traditional Congolese dress with the ‘high fashion’ of Paris and Milan. It was seen as a response to Western notions of African dress and restrictive definitions of what it meant to be ‘elegant’ or ‘fashionable’. 

Today, rumba is at the heart of Congolese life; weddings, parties, religious songs and national holidays. Rumba is more than an art form, it is an integral part of one’s national identity and a source of pride on both banks of the Congo River and beyond.