Mutuashi

It was the golden era of rumba when Tshala Muana entered the scene with a completely different sound. Her gamble paid off, and she’s now considered one of Congo’s greatest singers, her name synonymous with the folk Mutuashi dance from her native Kasai region. Unlike the guitar-driven rumba, her music floats along on a bed of mellow percussion and flutes, while her lyrics are usually in Tshiluba rather than Lingala. This 1996 album melds her regional folk sounds with the harder, Parisian soukous guitars (especially on the last three tracks) and Cuban rhythms. The lineup is a who’s who of Congo and Cuba’s best musicians, too. Produced by Ibrahim Sylla of Africando, it is in part composed by the great Pépé Kallé, with Lokassa Ya Mbongo on rhythm guitar, and a cast of Cuban musicians providing the Afro-Cuban rhythms.