Werrason

Leader of influential Congolese dance band Wenge Musica Maison Mère (WMMM), Werrason's effervescent soukous songs first appeared in 1998. His group's second album, 1999's Solola Bien, made him a bona fide star across Africa and Europe, and he released his solo debut, Kibuisa Mpimpa, in 2001. Following another solo album and major changes to the expansive lineup of his group, he updated his sound to include featured guitarists and further dance styles, as reflected on 2004's Alerte Generale. More-diverse fare followed in the form of offering slots for material written by bandmates beginning with 2008's Temps Present, Mayi Ya Sika, a practice also encouraged on the 2014 triple album Fleche Ingeta. His final three studio albums of the decade were credited solely to Werrason, including 2019's Formidable. Noël Ngiama Makanda grew up in Moliambo, a small village in the Kwilu District of the Congo, where he began singing in church as a grade schooler. He later played drums in a band as a young teen, but he was studying accounting in college when he co-founded the group Wenge Musica 4X4 Tout Terrain Bon Chic Bon Genre with friends including Didier Masela and Adolphe Dominguez. The group split up in 1997, with Masela, Dominguez, and Makanda -- by then going by the stage alias Werrason -- continuing on as Wenge Musica Maison Mère. The project, which included over dozen other contributors, made its full-length debut with Force D'Intervention Rapide in late 1998. They had a hit with the song "Chantal Switzerland" and returned with Solola Bien in 1999. The album won them a fan base across Africa as well as parts of Europe. Werrason released his first solo album, the double-length Kibuisa Mpimpa, in 2001. By that time, he was playing large theaters and arenas in places like the Congo and France. During his world tour that year, he was received by Pope John Paul II and performed a show at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa before a crowd of over 100,000. In 2004, WMMM underwent major lineup changes as several key members left to form the rival group Les Marquis de Maison Mère, while a few others bowed out to to pursue solo and side projects. Werrason responded by updating his sound with additional dance styles and rock instrumentation, and invited in another slew of musicians and dancers, including lead guitarist Flamme Kapaya. The revamped WMMM released Alerte Generale in 2004. Werrason followed it with another solo album, Témoignage, in late 2005. Billed to Werrason and Wenge Maison Mère, Sous-Sol was issued in 2006, a year that also saw him perform live with Jamaican musician Shaggy, an outspoken fan of Werrason's. 2008's Temps Present, Mayi Ya Sika was a more collaborative album with songs penned by bandmates, and he created fresh dance moves with the coupé-décalé-inspired Techno Malewa, Sans Cesse, Vol. 1 in 2009. He and his band followed that with Diata Bawu in 2010 and Techno Malewa Suite & Fin, Vol. 1 in 2011. After the latter album's release, Werrason performed a concert in Kikwit, near his home village, that was attended by over 200,000 fans. The album Satellite 2 followed in 2012 before he and WMMM offered the triple album Fleche Ingeta in 2014. Credited to just Werrason were the five-track Sans Poteau in 2015 and double-album 7 Jours de la Semaine in 2017. Another over-hourlong record, Formidable, saw release in 2019. ~ Marcy Donelson