Talk:Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is within the scope of the Music genres task force of the Music project, a user driven attempt to clean up and standardize music genre articles on Wikipedia. Please visit the task force guidelines page for ideas on how to structure a genre article and help us assess and improve genre articles to good article status.Music/Music genres task forceWikipedia:WikiProject Music/Music genres task forceTemplate:WikiProject Music/Music genres task forcemusic genre articles

Africa: DRC Mid‑importance

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Regional and national music High‑importance

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Wiki Education assignment: Online Writing- Writing for the Web

This article is currently the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 20 August 2024 and 4 December 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): ChrissMu (article contribs). Peer reviewers: BuMafluff8, 95reasons.

The Music of Resistance

In my recent contribution to the "Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo" article, I added a section titled "The Music of Resistance." This section explores the vital role that music played during various resistance movements in the country’s history. From colonial rule to political unrest, music has been a powerful tool of expression, used to voice dissent and unite communities. Artists such as Franco Luambo and Staff Benda Bilili used their platforms to challenge the political status quo and inspire change. This section delves into specific songs, their messages, and how they connected with broader movements for social and political transformation. The addition of this section helps to paint a fuller picture of the cultural significance of Congolese music, beyond entertainment, showing how it became a medium for resistance and solidarity.

ChrissMu (talk) 08:17, 22 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

— Assignment last updated by 95reasons (talk) 19:03, 15 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Great to do this, but I have to say that a "music of resistance" thesis does not generally describe the main stream of the music of the DRC.

One can point to a few examples of that, and find a strain of political resistance in Congolese music - the musicians who went to Belgium for independence talks, Indépendance Cha Cha, Franklin Boukaka (though he was from and died in the "other Congo"), and so forth. But I think the central story of Congolese music is that from about 1965 to about 1995, most DRC musicians ignored their country's intractible and terrible politics (and many of the DRC's best musicians left that country for West Africa, East Africa, and Paris) or they even supported the Mobuto regime, and they decided instead to focus their attention on making the world's best popular music that fueled dance floors on every continent.

Sullidav (talk) 02:54, 11 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]