M’ Pongo Love, whose real name Aimee Alfride M’Pongo Landu is a Congolese musician. She is well known for soft soprano voice but even more importantly because she succeeded in becoming a succesful musician despite being disabled. Along with Mbilia Bel, Tshala Mwana and Abeti Masikini, she is considered as one of the greatest female Congolese musicians.

M’PONGO LOVE was born in August 27, 1956 in Boma, a city on the Congo river near the western African coast. Her father was an army officer in charge of a military base. Her mother was director of a social center for the education of girls. In 1960, she received a penicillin shot. She had an allergic reaction to the shot and was paralyzed. Ironically the shot was a vaccination against Polio. The following year her father passed away. After two years of therapy, she regained some use of her legs. However her legs were deformed by the paralysis. The name Mpongo Love was given to her by her mother during childhood.

Mpongo Love started showing signs of her musical talents when she attend Notre Dame de Boma (Our Lady of Boma) primary school. There she sung in the school choir and also church choir. But it was not until she completed secondary school that her musical career took off. She left Boma for Kinshasa after secondary school. Upon arrival in Kinshasa, she enrolled in a typing course and started to work as a secretary while pursuing music contacts after work.

By a stroke of good luck, she had a friend who knew 𝐃𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐲, a legendary saxophonist who played with both Afrisa International and TPOK Jazz, the two biggest bands in Congolese music during the 1970s and 1980. He took Mpongo under his wing as his mentee.

M’PONGO made her musical debut at age 19. It was during a period when the odds were heavily stacked against women musicians. 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐢 had been the first succesful female musician but aside from Abeti, no other female musician had made it in Zaire.

When Mpongo Love started, she worked with a number of bands who provided backup vocals and instrumentation. These includes 𝙻𝚎𝚜 𝙳𝚒𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙽𝚘𝚒𝚛𝚜, 𝚃𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚔𝚎 𝚃𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚔𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 and 𝙼𝚒𝚗𝚣𝚘𝚝𝚘 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚊 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚊.

Her first song was 𝑷𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒚 (Not possible Maty). The song was about a secretary who pursues a love interest instead of focusing on her job. She ends up losing her job and the love interest. The song was a huge success and catapulted her to instant fame. The public was captivated by this new singer with a ravishing voice and a striking beauty despite her disability. Her first concert was directed by Empopo Loway. It occurred at the Cine Palladium. Her backup singers were members of 𝚃𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚌 𝚉𝚊𝚒𝚔𝚘 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊 which at the time included 𝐍𝐲𝐨𝐤𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨,𝐁𝐢𝐦𝐢 𝐎𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐌𝐮𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐮𝐬 and 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐨 among others. The concert was produced by 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 of Radio-TV-Advertising (RTP).

The audience was immediately taken by her angelic voice which is slightly nasal yet evokes a certain vulnerability betraying a person whose life has been difficult. From that point on, there was a special relationship between Mpongo and her fans.

She would eventually form her own group which was called Tcheke Tcheke love which she said was Swahili for laughter and happiness. Among the musicians whose career started at Tcheke Tcheke Love was 𝐓𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐚 who was a dancer.

In 1977, Mpongo joined a group of 𝙽𝚣𝚘𝚗𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 musicians, i.e. a motley crew of musicians who were moonlighting from their regular bands. The members included Ray Lema, Alfred Nzimbi, Pepe Manuaku Waku, Bopol Mansiamina, Bony Mbikayi, Kapela and Bastia Nama. All were great musicians in their own rights with excellent musical credits to their name.

She also sung songs composed by musical greats like 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐢, 𝐋𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐞́ 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚 and 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐳𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐲𝐚. All of them took the young Mpongo under their arms, helped mould her and propelled her to greatness.

Perhaps the one song that Mpongo Love is best known for is the song :𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗔 composed by 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐢i. It is a song that criticizes polygamy and emphasizes that men should be faithful.The song was a huge hit especially among married women but was highly controversial being in a society where polygamy was normal and being faithful to one woman was a foreign concept to many men. Mpongo delivered the song in her typically piercing and soulful style.

With her good experiences, she began composing her own musical works including “𝑲𝒂𝒑𝒘𝒆𝒑𝒘𝒆”, 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒐”, “𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈”, “𝑲𝒐𝒃𝒂”, “𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒂” and “𝑴𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒛𝒐” creating up the album L’Afrique danse avec Mpongo Love.

Mpongo was able to parlay her increasing popularity to get gigs in foreign countries. Her first one was in Uganda followed by the Central African republic. But the most famous one came in 1977 when she performed at the 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰 77in Lagos Nigeria. It was a grand celebration that attracted several bands from across Africa. Congo DR, then known as Zaire was represented by two bands each called National Orchestra of Zaire (ONAZA), each comprising of Afrisa International and TPOK Jazz members including 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨 and 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐮 𝐋𝐞𝐲. Mpongo Love sung with Franco’ s group and was introduced to the crowd by Franco and she performed on stage along with Franco, and other OK Jazz members such as Josky Kiambukuta, Makabi Flavien, Lutumba Simaro, Decca, Boyibanda, Ndombe Opetum and Lola Checain.

Since the early 1970s, Abeti Masikini had been the undisputed queen of Congolese music. She was then referred to as the Tigress. No other female musician came close. However the emergence of Mpongo Love suddenly provided Abeti with a challenge to her reign. Many immediately pronounced Mpongo as the heir apparent to Abeti’s throne. At first Mpongo respectfully referred to Abeti as her big sister.

But in the tradition of Congolese music where rival musicians are always feuding, a bitter rivalry emerged between the two. Abeti fired the first salvo when she released the song, song “𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮” (the following), which left some wondering whether Abeti was suggesting that Mpongo was trying too hard to be like her. Abeti denied it.

Then M’Pongo Love released the song “𝗞𝗼𝗯𝗮” in which she spoke about malice and rancor that inhabits some people. Many saw it as an answer to Abeti. The two of them later appeared on a TV show together to announce that there was no bitter rivalry between them.

In 1980, She traveled to Paris. Here she signed with a recording studio called Safari Ambiance. She released a seven song album called La Voix du Zaire. The album had moderate success in Zaire. She would return to Zaire to play several concerts on the strength of this album.

That same year Mpongo separated from her mentor Empopo Loway in order to pursue her own projects. She created her own music label called “Love’s Music and produced music for various singers. During this period, she traveled to Cote d Ivoire where among other concerts, she performed at the Centre poliomyélitique de Bonoua, a Polio treatment centre.

In 1981 she returned to Paris to resume work with Safari Ambiance. She took voice lessons from an opera singer. The result was a much improved vocal performance in her next album;Femme Commercante. She then released another album within Souzy Kaseya’s label called Vivre avec to.

Working at Safari Ambiance, she released a number of albums: There was the album “Masikini about divorce, Trahison”, which discusses the theme of bad company, Femme Commercante which praises the bravery of the woman and Fétiche Mpongo, dedicated to her mother who bravely raised her alone after the passing of her father. The album Femme Commercante in particular was a huge success.

In 1985, American musicians released an album to raise funds for Ethiopia which was at the time suffering from a prolonged drought. The album was titled ” We are the world” and was spearheaded by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. In response, African musicians led by Manu Dibango released a benefit album called Tam-Tam pour Ethiopie (drum for Ethiopia). Mpongo love contributed to the album by recording her part while she was touring Gabon.

Following the tremendous success of the Femme Commercante album, Mpongo followed up with an album called Basogeur (gossipers). After falling out with Colette Lacoste and Maniatakis who were the proprietors of Safari Ambiance, Mpongo Love attempted to break her contract because of a dispute over money. The issue was settled in French courts. Mpongo Love was forbidden from recording in France for a period.

As a result she moved to Gabon to continue pursuing her musical career. She was invited by Gabonese Minister 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘁. But without the support and arrangements of Safari Ambiance and Empopo Loway, her new offerings lacked quality. She then decided to focus on touring West Africa where she held numerous concerts in the late 1980s.

In July 1989, Mpongo left Gabon and returned to Kinshasa. She had recently given birth to her third child. She was determined to rejuvenate her flagging career. She then collaborated with Bopol Mansiamina to release the album Partager which was produced by Ibrahima Syalla.. By this time she had changed her style to a rumba with romantic accents, synthesizer and percussion. She released several songs including “Bakake working with of Oscar Diyabanza.

While in Gabon, Mpongo had contracted cerebral meningitis. She was hospitalized at the Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa in late 1989. While in hospital there were still rumours that she would soon re-unite with Empopo Loway for a new album. However her condition continued to deteriorate. After several weeks of hospitalization, she 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 on 15 January 1990.𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲. Six days later on January 21, her mentor Empopo Loway also passed away.

Aside from her melodious voice and excellent music, Mpongo Love will be remembered as a courageous woman who overcame her disability to become one of the best musicians of the 20th century. Cases of a person with such a disability becoming a famous musician are unheard of She was an inspiration to women and disabled people all over the continent.

Mpongo left behind three children. Of these, the eldest 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐌’𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨 is the only one attempting to follow in her mother’s musical footsteps. Aside from her musical career, she founded the Mpongo Love foundation whose goal is to honor the memory of the artist and also to assist children and women with disabilities.