Staff Benda Bilili

Staff Benda Bilili
2010 at "Palmengarten" in Frankfurt am Main
Background information
Origin	Kinshasa, DR Congo
Years active	2005 (2005)––present
Labels	Crammed Discs
Associated acts	Mbongwana Star
Members	Ricky Likabu Roger Landu
Past members	Coco Ngambali Théo Nzonza

Staff Benda Bilili are a group of street musicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They used to live around the grounds of the zoo in the country's capital city, Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in soukous, with elements of old-school rhythm and blues and reggae. The core of the band consists of four senior singers/guitarists, who are paraplegic (they had poliomyelitis when they were young) and move around in spectacularly customized tricycles. They are backed by a younger rhythm section consisting of abandoned street children who were taken under the protection of the older members of the band. The soloist is an 18-year-old boy (2009) who plays guitar-like solos on an electrified one-stringed lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. The group's name translates roughly from Lingala as "look beyond appearances".

Staff Benda Bilili have earned the 2009 Artist Award at Womex (World Music Expo).

Staff Benda Bilili have sought to raise awareness about crimes against humanity in Democratic Republic of the Congo, contributing to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation.

Staff Benda Bilili was formed by Ricky Likabu and Coco Ngambali with other paraplegic musicians, as other bands in Kinshasa would not work with them. They were later joined by a teenager, Roger Landu, who fashioned his own instrument - named a satongé - from an empty fish can, a piece of wood and a guitar string. The band rehearsed in Kinshasa zoo, because it was a quiet location, and played the streets of Kinshasa until they were heard by Vincent Kenis, a Belgian record producer specialising in Congolese music, who arranged for the band to record their debut album, Tres Tres Fort ("Very Very Strong").

In 2006, Staff Benda Bilili's song Let's Go and Vote ("Allons Voter"), written and performed by the musicians, was played repeatedly in the run-up to the 2006 historic polls on radio and television stations; it was reported to be responsible for a 70% increase in voter turnout. The credits on the video clip says it was produced by Monuc UN Mission in DR Congo and distributed by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The musicians were not offered contracts, but were reportedly paid $50 each. Staff Benda Bilili filed a lawsuit in the Congolese courts seeking $100,000 for Monuc's use of their music.