Tabu Ley Rochereau is more than just one of the greatest singers and composers in African popular music. He's also the master politician of the Congolese dance-band nation, which has splintered, fractured, revolted, imploded and rebuilt itself more or less continuously over the course of three generations while producing some of the world's most beautiful and sophisticated music along the way.
Born Pascal Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabou in 1940 in Banningville, a port town in the Banandu… more »
At his best, Rochereau is still irresistible, a master at the effortless, laidback ease that has been the trend since the mid-’70s. This contains some of his best cuts from the early ’80s. – John Storm Roberts