Rigobert Bamundele (28 August 1955 – 26 October 2023), best known as Rigo Star, was a

Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

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 ...

guitarist and composer. He played with several major soukous and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

acts, including

Papa Wemba Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of ...

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 ...

, Bozi Boziana's Anti-Choc,

Kanda Bongo Man Bongo Kanda (born 1 January 1955), better known by his stage name Kanda Bongo Man, is a Congolese soukous musician and singer. His career debuted in 1973 when he became the singer for the Belle Mambo band, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Le ...

Koffi Olomide Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba (born 13 July 1956), known professionally as Koffi Olomidé, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and founder of Quartier Latin International. Often referred to as the "King of Ndombolo", he is not ...

, Kékélé,

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, and

Fally Ipupa Fally Ipupa N'simba (born 14 December 1977), known professionally as Fally Ipupa, is a Congolese musician and dancer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Rumba", he is known for his tenor vocals and his fusion of contemporary and traditional ...

. His name is mostly associated with Congolese female singer M'bilia Bel, with whom he collaborated almost exclusively throughout the 1990s. He also released a few solo works, including the 1998 album ''

Attention! ''Attention!'' is the third studio album by German singer Alexander Klaws. It was released by Sony BMG on Hansa Records on 10 March 2006 in German-speaking Europe. Recorded after a short-living hiatus, it marked a departure from Klaws' previous ...

'' with

Sam Mangwana Sam Mangwana (born 21 February 1945) is a Congolese musician and songwriter. He was the frontman of his bands Festival des Maquisards and African All Stars. Mangwana was a member of François Luambo Makiadi's seminal band TPOK Jazz, and Tabu Ley ...

on vocals. Star died on 26 October 2023, in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, France, at the age of 68.

Partial discography

Solo

* ''Got the Feeling'' (1997) * ''Attention!'' (1998) * ''Ne refuse pas'' (1985)

With M'bilia Bel

* ''Phénomène'' (1988) * ''Ironie'' (1993)

With M'bilia Bel and Vivick Matou

* ''Yalowa'' (1996)

With Koffi Olomide

*''Aï aï aï la bombe eclate'' (1987)Aia ai ai la bombe eclate
/ref>

With Bozi Boziana's Anti-Choc

* ''Coupe Monte''
* ''Pere Noel Confiance''

With Paul Simon

* ''

The Rhythm of the Saints ''The Rhythm of the Saints'' is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released on October 16, 1990, by Warner Bros. In much the same way that Simon's previous album, ''Graceland'', released in 1986, drew upon Sout ...

'' (1990)

Footnotes

External links

* 1955 births 2023 deaths Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriates in France {{Africa-musician-stub