Jean Baptiste Emeneya Mubiala Kwamambu (November 23, 1956 – February 13, 2014) was a Congolese singer.

Early life

Jean was born in

Kikwit Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu Province, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 458,000 ( ...

within the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. While attending the

University of Lubumbashi The University of Lubumbashi (), also known by the acronym UNILU, is one of the largest universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Lubumbashi in Haut-Katanga Province, previously Katanga Province. The campus is located ...

as a political science student in 1977, King Kester joined the band

Viva La Musica Viva La Musica is a popular band from Zaire (now DR Congo) founded by singer Papa Wemba in 1977. While Viva La Musica started out as a soukous band (essentially a spin-off of Zaiko Langa Langa), it eventually grew into a world music act, reachi ...

. After achieving success with several popular songs, he became one of the most popular African singers in the 1980s and created his own band, called "Victoria Eleison", on December 24, 1982.

Career and contributions

Emeneya was thought to be innovative with his music. He was one of the first musicians in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

to initiate music programming and used

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s in his ''Nzinzi'' album, copies of which were sold worldwide in 1987. He introduced

African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...

to an international audience by combining African motives with programming and

Rhythm and Blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

. After being successful for several years, in 1993 he released ''Everybody'' distributed by Sonodisc. "''Everybody"'' achieved international success, reaching a wide audience. In 1997, after 7 years of absence, King Kester returned to the Congo. Nearly 80,000 people attended the first concert after his return, which was a record-setting feat according to the Congolese media. Emeneya is considered by many to be one of the greatest African singers. He recorded more than 1000 songs and performed on all continents. He promoted LA SAPE, a subculture centered on fashion, and designers like

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

, Masatomo, JM Weston, etc. Emeneya was also an actor in the movie "Les habits neufs du Gouverneur". His interest and innovation were not confined to music, as Emeneya was an advocate for the African people and a civil rights fighter. He repudiated

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and released a song supporting

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

while praising his cause and morale in his album ''Success Fous''. During his last tour in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, while performing in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2007, he praised the United States for making significant progresses on justice, equality, and race. Emeneya was involved in charitable activities through his foundation. He was concerned about the level of poverty in the continent and wanted to make sure that governments in different African nations made enough efforts to improve the social lives of their citizens. King Kester Emeneya was a supporter of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Emeneya praised President Obama in a multiple number of his interviews for being an advocate of the poor. Emeneya performed a concert in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

in 2009 to help celebrate Obama's inauguration as the first US black president. As a friend of the United States, he helped the US Embassy in Kinshasa celebrate July 4 several times, especially during the tenure of U.S. Ambassador Aubrey Hooks. King Kester Emeneya was also grateful to President Bush for his HIV and malaria initiatives in Africa. He released his album ''Le Jour Le Plus Long D-Day'' (The Longest Day) in 2007 to praise the US invasion of Normandy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Late life, death and recognitions

From 1991 until his death in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in February 2014, King Kester Emeneya lived mostly in

with his family. Emeneya's funeral was grandiose and is remembered in the history of Congo. It was broadcast live on multiple channels in Congo and relayed to many others around the world to his fan base. On April 6, 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

welcomed Emeneya's family to

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

to express his support. On March 2, 2014, Emeneya was awarded the presidential civic medal posthumously by President

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...

for his service and extraordinary contribution to Congolese nation and music, the highest civilian award to be bestowed by a Congolese president. King Kester Emeneya was also awarded the title of Ambassador of Peace posthumously by the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2015. On April 25, 2014, a tribute concert was held in his hometown of

, which ended in disaster, and at least forty people in the stadium lost their lives in a stampede following a power failure.

Discography

*Milena (1977) *Teint de Bronze (1978) *Ndako ya Ndele (1979) *Musheni (1979) *Kayole (1979) *Fleur d'ete (1978) *Ngonda (1979) *Dikando (1980) *La Runda (1980) *Ata Nkale (1979) *Dembela (1981) * Naya (1982) *Ngabelo(1982) *Okosi ngai mfumu(1983) *Surmenage(1984) *Kimpiatu(1985) *Willo mondo(1985) *Wabelo(1986) *Manhattan(1986) *Deux Temps(1987) * Nzinzi (1987) *Mokusa(1990) * Dikando Remix (1991) * Polo Kina (1992) *

Every Body ''Every Body'' is a 2023 American documentary film directed by and produced by NBC News Studios. It features Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 11, 2023, and was released ...

(1993) * Live in Japan (1991) * Every Body (Remix) (1995) * Pas de contact (1995) * Succès Fous (1997) * Mboka Mboka (1998) * Never Again Plus jamais (1999) * Longue Histoire (Volume 1 & 2) (2000) * Live au Zénith de Paris (2001) * Live à l'Olympia (Bruno COQUATRIX) de Paris (2002) * Rendre à César ... ... ce qui est à César (2002) * Nouvel ordre (2002) *Le Jour Le Plus Long (2007) *DVD Olympia Bruno COQUATRIX live 2008

References

External links

King Kester Emeneya's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emeneya, King Kester 1956 births 2014 deaths People from Kikwit