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| Congo's hidden cultural hub | Congo's hidden cultural hub |
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| Situated on a lake shore, the foot of an active volcano (actually, two volcanoes), the border with Rwanda and on the southern edge of North Kivu province, the city of Goma (map) has had more than its share of disasters, notably the Rwanda genocide (1994), the eruption of Nyiragongo (2002), the eastern Congo wars (1996-2003) and most recently the advance of the M23 rebels, whose headquarters are a stone's throw from the provincial capital. In November they launched an attack on Goma, taking over the city without much resistance from the army. | Situated on a lake shore, the foot of an active volcano (actually, two volcanoes), the border with Rwanda and on the southern edge of North Kivu province, the city of Goma (map) has had more than its share of disasters, notably the Rwanda genocide (1994), the eruption of Nyiragongo (2002), the eastern Congo wars (1996-2003) and most recently the advance of the M23 rebels, whose headquarters are a stone's throw from the provincial capital. In November they launched an attack on Goma, taking over the city without much resistance from the army. |
| After a show of strength the rebels marched out again, leaving a trail of looted houses, women who had been raped, more than 1,100 escaped prisoners hiding among the population and a pillaged central bank. The day M23 entered Goma, this video (above) from Kinshasa-based rapper Lexxus Legal's child education album 5eme Doigt was launched, and the bouncy castle, computer graphics and celebrating kids couldn't have offered a more contrasting image of the country. | After a show of strength the rebels marched out again, leaving a trail of looted houses, women who had been raped, more than 1,100 escaped prisoners hiding among the population and a pillaged central bank. The day M23 entered Goma, this video (above) from Kinshasa-based rapper Lexxus Legal's child education album 5eme Doigt was launched, and the bouncy castle, computer graphics and celebrating kids couldn't have offered a more contrasting image of the country. |
| To the outside world, the advance of the M23 didn't help in providing a more balanced picture of life in Goma. The fact that the city has a budding cultural scene has gone largely unnoticed. Companies creating opportunities for young talent include the Maisha Soul studio, run by the brother of Congolese pop idol Innos'B, radio stations aiming at the youth of eastern Congo such as Mutaani, the Yole!Africa youth centre, Ujadep (Union des Jeunes Artistes Dessinateurs et Peintres), Maison des Jeunes and Maison Proplusion. There are organisations working to strengthen the budding local film industry like Collywood (yes!), Goma Film Project and in the past couple of years a number of new recording artists and music video producers have emerged. | To the outside world, the advance of the M23 didn't help in providing a more balanced picture of life in Goma. The fact that the city has a budding cultural scene has gone largely unnoticed. Companies creating opportunities for young talent include the Maisha Soul studio, run by the brother of Congolese pop idol Innos'B, radio stations aiming at the youth of eastern Congo such as Mutaani, the Yole!Africa youth centre, Ujadep (Union des Jeunes Artistes Dessinateurs et Peintres), Maison des Jeunes and Maison Proplusion. There are organisations working to strengthen the budding local film industry like Collywood (yes!), Goma Film Project and in the past couple of years a number of new recording artists and music video producers have emerged. |
| Geographically isolated from Kinshasa, and still a four-hour drive from the Rwandan capital Kigali, artists from Goma don't have many avenues to promote their work. The city is the capital of NGOs though: nearly every western and Congolese aid organisation has an office (or rather: a barbed wire fenced compound flanked with watch towers) here, and some have provided substantial budgets to support local cultural initiatives. | Geographically isolated from Kinshasa, and still a four-hour drive from the Rwandan capital Kigali, artists from Goma don't have many avenues to promote their work. The city is the capital of NGOs though: nearly every western and Congolese aid organisation has an office (or rather: a barbed wire fenced compound flanked with watch towers) here, and some have provided substantial budgets to support local cultural initiatives. |
| Not surprisingly, the most visible output of the local artistic community has been through projects organised by these NGOs, and often the topics of these songs are restricted to the issues that they want to promote. The presence of NGOs is not necessarily the best catalyst for the development of an independent, self-sustaining arts scene, or civil society as a whole. Sekombi Katondolo, founder of Mutaani project, says: "Most NGOs ask artists to write about their activities like against cholera, malaria and so on. It doesn't mean this message is not welcome, but musicians should realise that this is music for food, they should not stay artists for NGOs; they should say what they believe." | Not surprisingly, the most visible output of the local artistic community has been through projects organised by these NGOs, and often the topics of these songs are restricted to the issues that they want to promote. The presence of NGOs is not necessarily the best catalyst for the development of an independent, self-sustaining arts scene, or civil society as a whole. Sekombi Katondolo, founder of Mutaani project, says: "Most NGOs ask artists to write about their activities like against cholera, malaria and so on. It doesn't mean this message is not welcome, but musicians should realise that this is music for food, they should not stay artists for NGOs; they should say what they believe." |
| So is there any hope for local artists to grow their market without being dependent on ngo? Sekombi: "Yes, we have to bring different events together and have the people of Goma pay for it. We have a million people living in Goma, if one artist sells his album for one dollar, we can get 200,000 US dollar with a good marketing team. I think the most important thing is to start thinking that money is here and we can make money ourselves, not until western NGOs give it to us'. | So is there any hope for local artists to grow their market without being dependent on ngo? Sekombi: "Yes, we have to bring different events together and have the people of Goma pay for it. We have a million people living in Goma, if one artist sells his album for one dollar, we can get 200,000 US dollar with a good marketing team. I think the most important thing is to start thinking that money is here and we can make money ourselves, not until western NGOs give it to us'. |
| Both Maisha Soul Studio and Mutaani were founded by young people who received their training at Yole!Africa, a cultural centre founded in 2000 by filmmaker Petna Ndaliko Katondolo. Yole!Africa organises the annual Salaam Kivu International Film Festival, the largest cultural event in eastern Congo, which operates outside of influence of NGOs. Yole!Africa has decided not to rely on development funding to organise this event. Instead, since the first festival in 2006, it has had financial backing from Alkebu Film Productions, managing to reach an audience of thousands of Goma youth. | Both Maisha Soul Studio and Mutaani were founded by young people who received their training at Yole!Africa, a cultural centre founded in 2000 by filmmaker Petna Ndaliko Katondolo. Yole!Africa organises the annual Salaam Kivu International Film Festival, the largest cultural event in eastern Congo, which operates outside of influence of NGOs. Yole!Africa has decided not to rely on development funding to organise this event. Instead, since the first festival in 2006, it has had financial backing from Alkebu Film Productions, managing to reach an audience of thousands of Goma youth. |
| But, according to Katondolo, there is a way for artists to benefit from working with aid organisations without becoming puppets of development: "I have told artists: don't let NGO money buy your soul. Get that money, ask enough so you can produce three of your own songs, or make one film for them and produce your own videos afterwards. Some of the artists managed to adopt that system. Eric Fonkodji is one of them, he has since started his own record label and he's now capable of hiring services of artists to help him to make his own songs. Also he produces for the outside world, including churches and NGOs or even politicians when they want to do their campaigns." | But, according to Katondolo, there is a way for artists to benefit from working with aid organisations without becoming puppets of development: "I have told artists: don't let NGO money buy your soul. Get that money, ask enough so you can produce three of your own songs, or make one film for them and produce your own videos afterwards. Some of the artists managed to adopt that system. Eric Fonkodji is one of them, he has since started his own record label and he's now capable of hiring services of artists to help him to make his own songs. Also he produces for the outside world, including churches and NGOs or even politicians when they want to do their campaigns." |
| Fonkodji is the brother of Innos'B (real name Innocent Balumé), who had a national breakthrough when he won the Vodacom Superstar competition in 2010 at the age of 12, performing a cover of a Michael Jackson song. The outcome of that victory for Innos'B included a Vodafone sponsoring contract, shows all over the country and national superstar status. Also it created an opportunity for the young singer and his two musician brothers to develop their label and perform and record outside the country. At the time of writing, Innos'B, Prince Aghakan and Fonkodji were in Atlanta in the US working on an album featuring the likes of Akon and Ludacris, while Fonkodji is also recording new tracks for his own album. | Fonkodji is the brother of Innos'B (real name Innocent Balumé), who had a national breakthrough when he won the Vodacom Superstar competition in 2010 at the age of 12, performing a cover of a Michael Jackson song. The outcome of that victory for Innos'B included a Vodafone sponsoring contract, shows all over the country and national superstar status. Also it created an opportunity for the young singer and his two musician brothers to develop their label and perform and record outside the country. At the time of writing, Innos'B, Prince Aghakan and Fonkodji were in Atlanta in the US working on an album featuring the likes of Akon and Ludacris, while Fonkodji is also recording new tracks for his own album. |
| In 2010 at the Salaam Kivu festival a group of students made a music video (above) for a track recorded by artists who won a rap and singing competition. The Salaam Kivu All Stars project was followed up in 2012 with the installation of Yole's Beat Making Lab and the recording of Cho Cho Cho, a posse cut which ended up on Celebrate Nations, an international compilation released for the 2013 the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. | In 2010 at the Salaam Kivu festival a group of students made a music video (above) for a track recorded by artists who won a rap and singing competition. The Salaam Kivu All Stars project was followed up in 2012 with the installation of Yole's Beat Making Lab and the recording of Cho Cho Cho, a posse cut which ended up on Celebrate Nations, an international compilation released for the 2013 the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. |
| One of the role models for many aspiring hip hop artists in Goma is S3, a rapper based in the town. Regarded among his colleagues as one of the more achieved local hip hop artists, S3 had previously recorded a couple of promotional tracks but because of lack of distribution opportunities most of his claim to fame was based on live shows and word of mouth, until recently. | One of the role models for many aspiring hip hop artists in Goma is S3, a rapper based in the town. Regarded among his colleagues as one of the more achieved local hip hop artists, S3 had previously recorded a couple of promotional tracks but because of lack of distribution opportunities most of his claim to fame was based on live shows and word of mouth, until recently. |
| At the beginning of this year he released Je vote (I vote), his first music video by S3. Last year, the song won the third prize in Fair Play's Anti Corruption Youth Voices Award and in November S3 performed in Brazil. He is one of the local artists who signed a promotion and distribution deal with the new Mutaani record label, a side project of the radio station. In Congo, community radio stations are not allowed to run commercial advertising, so Mutaani has had to look for alternative sources of income – and the label is one of them. Mutaani have signed six artists for their first string of EP-length releases, available on iTunes. The other artists on the Mutaani label are JC Kibombo, Yvonne Fatuma, Wanny S King, Detty Darba and DJ Coco. | At the beginning of this year he released Je vote (I vote), his first music video by S3. Last year, the song won the third prize in Fair Play's Anti Corruption Youth Voices Award and in November S3 performed in Brazil. He is one of the local artists who signed a promotion and distribution deal with the new Mutaani record label, a side project of the radio station. In Congo, community radio stations are not allowed to run commercial advertising, so Mutaani has had to look for alternative sources of income – and the label is one of them. Mutaani have signed six artists for their first string of EP-length releases, available on iTunes. The other artists on the Mutaani label are JC Kibombo, Yvonne Fatuma, Wanny S King, Detty Darba and DJ Coco. |
| S3 may have been working in what is known to the world as a war zone, but he doesn't see that as the biggest obstacle to his career. "In Goma we don't live at war permanently, there are times when everything is quiet and that is when everybody is doing what they do best – we musicians come out and send a message to our leaders demanding peace." The emcee takes the potential impact of his music very seriously: "For me, music is the most effective weapon, it can be used to change society. We already got used to poverty, hunger and war itself, but we won't give up the struggle because there are voices that are still unheard, and it's through our lyrics that the message will come through." | S3 may have been working in what is known to the world as a war zone, but he doesn't see that as the biggest obstacle to his career. "In Goma we don't live at war permanently, there are times when everything is quiet and that is when everybody is doing what they do best – we musicians come out and send a message to our leaders demanding peace." The emcee takes the potential impact of his music very seriously: "For me, music is the most effective weapon, it can be used to change society. We already got used to poverty, hunger and war itself, but we won't give up the struggle because there are voices that are still unheard, and it's through our lyrics that the message will come through." |
| He is not convinced of the benefits of working for NGOs: "They may study our music to see how they can make us work for them, then they will decide what subjects we must talk about in our lyrics. Forget about issues that I want to sing about ... I rather stay independent. You know, without the war in eastern Congo there won't be many of these NGOs left so let us not depend on." | He is not convinced of the benefits of working for NGOs: "They may study our music to see how they can make us work for them, then they will decide what subjects we must talk about in our lyrics. Forget about issues that I want to sing about ... I rather stay independent. You know, without the war in eastern Congo there won't be many of these NGOs left so let us not depend on." |
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