A rare disc on the Congolese Opika label, one of a handful of labels that operated out of what was then called Léopoldville in Belgian Congo (Now Kinshasa). After reading King Leopold’s Ghost, I always cringe when calling the city by its colonial name, which honored such an evil personage.
This delightful song’s title, “Mongai Rumba Mabe”, translates to “Memory of a Bad Rumba” and is credited to “Jaccano na baninga na ye”, or Jaccano and his friends. Not much is known about Jaccano Sukuma, however.
They lyrics seem to describe the memory of a rumba (party) where the lamenting singer’s reputation is shattered due to gossip, rumors (“malibondo”), and social drama.
This damaged disc was sent as a packer / freebie with a few other Opika titles I bought from a European seller. It has a radial crack that is hanging on for dear life – without TLC, soon to become an significant edge bite. On this side the break is clean and playable with tics that I can easily de-click away. The flip side has the worse of it, as the crack is not clean but ragged – with shards of the grooves broken off. This renders the first 30-40 seconds of the flip side unplayable. Fortunately, this is the better tune of the two.
The catalog number of this one, S 45 C, is also odd – as most Opika releases are numbered from 1 to 2198.
Recorded in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo circa 1954.
Released as Opika S 45 C.
Credits:
Jaccano Sukuma – vocals
Eugéne Moembo – lead guitar
Adolphe Ngondo – guitar
Congo Ubangi – ensemble vocals
Unknown Artist – percussion