Remmy Ongala

=History=

Remmy Ongala, guitarist and siinger, is a well-known musician on the Tanzanian landscape, but was born in 1947 in Kivu, Congo. A rising musician since the late 1980's, Remmy Ongala was part of the soukous scene (an East-African kind of Rumba), which in conjunction with his Orchestra Super Matimila he helped to transmute to the Tanzanian music often called Ubongo, the Swahili word for brain, in Tanzania, which in turn led to Tanzanian hip-hop particularly in the city of Dar es Salaam during the 1990's. Ubongo is usually perceived by artists and listeners alike as "conscious" music, one that actively contributes to Tanzanian soundscape with socio-political commentary. Believing in the abolishment of racism and social injustice, Ongala infuses his lyrics with these messages. [ Remmy Ongala Afropop Artist http://www.afropop.org/explore/artist_info/ID/32/Remmy%20Ongala/] His inspiring message has led him to be nick-named "Dr Remmy". Following the end of British colonial rule in 1961, Julius Nyerere introduced the value of Ujamaa, or familyhood, which emphasized equality and justice. Such became a recurring theme in many Tanzanian artists' music, including Remmy Ongala. [ Lemelle, Sidney J. "'Ni wapi Tunakwenda': Hip-Hop Culture and the Children of Arusha." The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip-Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture. ed. Dipannita Basu, Sidney J. Lemelle, 230-254. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press ]

Discography

Studio Albums [ Remmy Ongala Discography http://www.afromix.org/html/musique/artistes/remmy-ongala/index.es.html ]

*1989: "Songs For the Poor Man", RealWorld
**Tracks:::# "Nasikitika" 6:22::# "Karola" 5:46::# "Kipenda Roho" 6:25
also heard on Track 10 of the Natural Born Killers (soundtrack) in 1994::# "Sauti Ya Mnyonge" 8:32::# "Kifo" 9:12::# "Usingizi" 7:49::# "Muziki Asili Yake Wapi" 5:32::# "Pamella" 5:23::# "Dole" 6:55::# "Mariam Wangu" 7:07
*1992: "Mambo", RealWorld
*2000: "Sema", SocaMusic

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