Indépendance Cha Cha
| "Indépendance Cha Cha" | |
|---|---|
| Congolese rumba by Vicky Longomba | |
| Language | Lingala and French |
| Released | January 27, 1960 |
| Genre | Congolese rumba |
| Length | 3:05 |
| Label | Fonior |
| Songwriter(s) | Joseph "Grand Kallé" Kabasele |
"Indépendance Cha Cha" (French; "Independence cha cha") was a song performed by Joseph Kabasele (best known by his stage name, Le Grand Kallé) from the group L'African Jazz in the popular African Rumba style. The song has been described as "Kabasele's most memorable song" and one of the first Pan-African hits.
The song was composed and first performed in 1960, the so-called Year of Africa, to celebrate the imminent independence of the Belgian Congo (the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo). The song achieved considerable successes and remains the most internationally best-known examples of Congolese Rumba.
As a prominent Congolese cultural figure, Le Grand Kallé and his band, African Jazz, were chosen to accompany the Congolese delegation to Brussels, Belgium for the Congolese Round Table Conference on Congolese independence in early 1960. Kabasele took part in the discussions. The song was written on 20 January 1960, incorporating instruments and rhythms of music of the African diaspora, particularly Cuba. It was first played at the Hotel Plaza in Brussels on 27 January 1960.
It was sung by Victor Longomba and Nico Kasanda played the guitar. For the first performance of the song at the conference, Le Grand Kallé brought together four musicians from his own band, L'African Jazz (Kasanda, Roger Izeidi, Pierre Yatula and Déchaud Mwamba) along with two members of the rival band, OK Jazz (Longomba and Armando Brazzos).
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