Tshabola Nyunyi and his Misambu ya Kwetu, Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo

My previous posts featuring cassettes from the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have not generated much enthusiasm. Nonetheless, these recordings remain favorites of mine, and I will continue to share cherished cassettes from Kasai. (I have over a hundred cassettes of likembe-led groups from the Bakongo/Bas-Congo, but every time I go through DRC cassettes to select recordings to feature, I return to the Kasai.)

This cassette features hypnotic vocal interplay between Tshabola Nyunyi and his backing vocalists and simple instrumental accompaniment. There is a string instrument--I can't tell if it's a guitar or a four/five-string harp--and a glass bottle. All I know about Tshabola Nyunyi, as I noted on the cassette sleeve below, is that he is from Tshilenge, and that, in April of 2011, he was alive and living in Mbuji-Mayi. This is Misambu ya Kwetu, which I was told translates as 'our music'. 

Download Tshabola Nyunyi

Is it possible that this Tshabola Nyunyi and the late Mbuyamba Nyunyi, who participated in the Kasai All Stars and passed away in 2011, are one and the same? If you have any information, please share. 

 

This cassette is one of several dozen that I purchased from a street vendor who was wandering around the outskirts of the Mbuji-Mayi market with a boombox. As with most of the recordings featured on the blog, the audio fidelity isn't the best but the music is worth your time.  

Enjoy!