''Omona Wapi'' is an album by Congolese singer-songwriters and bandleaders

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

(Francois Luambo Makiadi) and

Tabu Ley Rochereau Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a Congolese rumba singer and musician. He was the leader of ''Orchestre Afrisa International'', as well as one of Africa's most influe ...

. Both artists competed for popularity in Africa in the latter half of the 20th century as they contributed to the development of

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in ...

.
Angeloro, Al, ''An African Biographical Dictionary'' Though typically considered to be archrivals, the duo recorded several albums together. ''Omona Wapi'' was released by the independent American label

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey–based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distr ...

in 1985 and reissued on CD in 1991. It was one of the final recordings of Franco, who released some 150 albums during his career and died of AIDS in 1989.

Critical reception

''Omona Wapi'' was largely ignored in the United States upon release. ''The'' ''Village Voice'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the album an A+ and named it his number one album of 1985.Christgau, Robert. ''Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s.'' Acknowledgments; pgs. 155 & 500. In 1990 he named it the fifth-best album of the 1980s.

Track listing

References

External links

*
Omona Wapi
' at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control 1985 collaborative albums Franco Luambo albums Tabu Ley Rochereau albums Shanachie Records albums