Papa Wemba, one of Africa\u2019s greatest music stars, has died after<\/p>\n
collapsing on stage during a festival in the Ivory Coast, the event
\norganisers said Sunday.<\/p>\n
Papa Wemba, who was known as the \u201cking of Congolese rumba\u201d for helping to
\nbring the highly popular sound to an international audience, was 66.<\/p>\n
The flamboyant singer died shortly after after performing three songs at
\nthe Urban Musical Festival Anoumabo (FEMUA) in Abidjan, the organisers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The FEMUA management expressed its \u201cdeep sorrow\u201d at the death of a man who
\nhas been at the forefront of African music for more than four decades.<\/p>\n
Papa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in June 1949 in
\nwhat was then Belgian Congo.<\/p>\n
He began his singing career in religious choirs in which he developed his
\ntrademark high range voice, making his debut in the capital Kinshasa at
\nthe end of the 1960s.<\/p>\n
He inherited his love of song from his mother, who was a professional
\n\u201cwailing woman\u201d at funerals.<\/p>\n
He was convicted in 2004 of smuggling illegal immigrants into France by
\ndisguising them as members of his band but walked free as he had already
\nserved four months behind bars.<\/p>\n
He was supported by a host of fans during his Paris trial in which he was
\nsentenced to a 30-month term, with 26 months suspended, and a fine of
\n10,000 euros ($11,000).<\/p>\n
\u2013 Colourful dandy \u2013<\/p>\n
Papa Wemba, who was also known for his flamboyant style of dress, was a
\nfounding member of the \u201cSociety of Dandies and Trendy People\u201d in what is
\nnow the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n
Like many of his generation he was strongly influenced by American and
\nBritish pop culture and initially took the stage name Jules Presley.<\/p>\n
In 1969 he helped found Zaiko Langa Langa, a Zaire-based pop group that
\nwas to achieve cult status in the 1970s with its revival of Latin American
\nrumba.<\/p>\n
The group revitalised the style that had been popular in the 1940s, using
\na combination of Afro-Cuban rhythm and Congolese song while introducing
\nrock rhythms and electronic sounds.<\/p>\n
Papa Wemba settled in France in 1986 as his fame began to reach as far
\nafield as Japan, dazzled by the African dandy who was dressed by the
\nworld\u2019s leading designers.<\/p>\n
He went on to reach a much wider public thanks to a world music album
\nproduced by France\u2019s Martin Meissonnier in 1988, which blended African and
\nwestern sounds.<\/p>\n
Papa Wemba\u2019s career began to falter after parting ways with in 1999 the
\nReal World record label that was founded by British rock star, the former
\nGenesis singer Peter Gabriel.<\/p>\n
AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Papa Wemba, one of Africa\u2019s greatest music stars, has died after collapsing on stage during a festival in the Ivory Coast, the event organisers said Sunday. Papa Wemba, who was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n