The band strikes up the rumba, and the dance floor in Kinshasa fills with couples who sway to its slinky, sensual rhythm. Rumba has an international following, especially for its brassy Cuban version.

When you look at Congolese music the question that comes into mind is whether it ever reached its full potential and whether it is a reflection of what Congo as a country has become. For a country ...

Washington, DC — This 40-track, multi-artist compilation takes us to the origins of African rumba, a musical genre that was developed during the 1930s-40 and later gained continent-wide acceptance.

The smooth, groove music of Congolese rumba was added Tuesday to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, sparking delight in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Congo Brazzaville, where the ...

A Kenyan legend of '70s East African rumba music, Samba Mapangala was understandably proud when Barack Obama was elected president. He even wrote a song, “Obama Ubarikiwe” roughly translated as “Obama ...

Congolese band Staff Benda Bililli talks to RFI about going from the streets to Kinshasa to shaking up the world with their infectious brand of rumba. Their story is one of the most remarkable on the ...

A semi-opaque tone poem mainly for the world-beat crowd, the documentary On the Rumba River is a concert-cum-elegy for the Congolese musician Wendo Kolosoy, who died last year and was considered at ...