Uganda: Lingala Makes Comeback

It dominated the Ugandan airwaves once, influenced our music as well as the dance routines. Right from the sixties to the late nineties, Congolese music, generalised as Lingala, had a special place in Ugandans' hearts mainly for its piercing guitar solo and the energetic dance stokes - which felt a little silly at times - that would make a visit to the gym unnecessary. It also enjoyed a lion's share of prime time in nightclubs, but somehow genres like Ndombolo and Soukous faded into thin air at the start of the new millennium.

There was a new dawn in Ugandan music and all of a sudden, popular Congolese artistes at the time like Awilo Longomba, Kofi Olomide, Luchana Mobulu, Kanda Bongoman and Madilu System disappeared into abyss, leaving us with just profound memories. It's widely argued that the Ugandan music revival forced them out and relegated Lingala to a few hangouts frequented by the middle-aged, as Jose Chameleone and company took centre stage.

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