Papa Wemba

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Our connection with the giant country in the center of Africa known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is stronger than we may imagine. We all carry a bit of Congo in our pockets. All smartphones use a metal called coltan and Congo holds 80% of the world's reserve of this mineral. Nevertheless, despite having some of the world's largest mineral deposits of coltan, cobalt, copper, gold, and diamonds, Congo has rarely seen real prosperity. The mining of those minerals has only brought division, wars and poverty to the Congolese people. What has brought them unity, happiness and hope is something else, something that was always there. Literally, from the beginning of time - The documentary film The Rumba Kings shows us that the real treasure of Congo has always been its music, specifically Congolese rumba music, the rhythm that helped Congo fight colonial oppression, that became the soundtrack to the country's independence and that took Africa by storm with its mesmerizing guitar sounds. The country formerly known as Zaire, starting in the 1950s and continuing into the 1980s, was the vibrant musical heart of Sub-Saharan Africa, crammed with dancing bars and musical orchestras such as the African Jazz or OK Jazz, bustling with international record labels such as Opika or Ngoma, and most importantly home to some of the biggest stars of African music such as Grand Kalle, Dr. Nico and Franco Luambo. Through the voices of an extensive array of Congolese historians, music experts, and a comprehensive cast of musicians that includes Congolese superstar Papa Wemba, world renowned saxophone player Manu Dibango, as well as the very last musicians that remain from that era, The Rumba Kings is an important tour de force for music lovers. The film also features never-before-seen footage of the historic performance of Franco Luambo and his OK Jazz orchestra for the 1974 Ali-Foreman boxing match in Kinshasa, known as the Rumble in the Jungle. -Shift Visual Lab, LLC.