African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 547
cases bears a striking resemblance to the words/dance song structure of modern music, or
what they call the “music of this world.” Variations on the fanfare ensemble (or minimarching
band) are used in some local churches (Kimbanguiste, Salvation Army, etc.)
and for various types of lifecycle ceremonies. This style is preferred by those families
that, because of religious convictions or an elevated class status wish to distance
themselves from the stereotypes of witchcraft and backwardness that are often associated
with “traditional” music.
Ethnic-based forms of “traditional” music are often heard at the end-of-mourning
funeral parties (matanga) in Kinshasa. Where families cannot find a group of musicians
who specialize in the music from their home region or ethnic group, sometimes a
prerecorded cassette of this music is used. Groups in this category use traditional
instruments, which are sometimes adapted for use in an urban setting (strings made from
steel belting in tires, metal containers instead of gourds, electric amplifications of some
sort). In some cases, folklore musicians use electric instruments and perform not in
ceremonial circumstances, but in the bars and bistros scattered throughout the city. It was
from these urban traditional groups (such as ana Odeon, Kintweni
National, and later Swede Swede) that the category of tradimoderne was born, a style
whose form draws from “modern” music but whose lyrical-melodic content comes
directly from folklore. Thus, there is a great deal of overlap between what at first seem
like stylistically and analytically distinct categories of popular urban music. What is most
interesting about these locally produced musical styles is the extent to which they are
locally consumed. In fact, it is very uncommon to see or hear foreign music of any kind
in 1990s Kinshasa. Even with regards to rap music, one of the only imported styles that
received regular airplay on local private television, a dynamic local rap scene had
emerged in which young artists infused an increasingly global aesthetic form with local
motifs, meanings, and language (Revue Noire 1996).
References
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