Edouard (Katiti) Masengo (born 1933 in Kafubu,

Haut-Katanga District Haut-Katanga District (Upper Katanga District) is a former district located in the former Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The copper mining centers of Lubumbashi and Likasi were surrounded by the district but were admin ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

- 27 March 2003) was a Congolese guitarist and singer. In 1950 Masengo helped found JECOKE,
RFI Musique, 'Music of the Copper Eaters' June 6, 2005 "jeunes comiques de la Kenya". The JECOKE troop went on tour through

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Congo Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

, and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, with great success, due to their ' dance. A music contest was organized in Leopoldville in 1956. The winner was JECOKE, who beat out famed local artists such as

Wendo Kolosoy Antoine Wendo Kolosoy (April 25, 1925 – July 28, 2008), known as Papa Wendo, was a Congolese musician. He is considered the "Father" of Congolese rumba, also known as soukous, a musical style blending son cubano, beguine, waltz, tango and cha ...

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and Franco to win. The day before the Independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Masengo decided to go to

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

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, where he was to make several productions with such great stars as

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Donat Muya, chief of the

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...

National Museum, says that Masengo went to meet

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. They sang Masengo's compositions as a duet, and this new fame opened the door for Masengo to get contracts to endorse the products of such firms as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, and

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

. However, Edouard Masengo did not forget his roots in Katanga. He returned there often to visit fellow musicians Losla Abelo and Mwenda wa Bayeke (

Jean-Bosco Mwenda Jean-Bosco Mwenda, also known as Mwenda wa Bayeke (1930 – September 1990), was a pioneer of Congolese fingerstyle acoustic guitar music. He was also popular in other African countries, particularly in East Africa, and in the late 1950s and early ...

). In 1972 Masengo returned for good to

, but was stripped of his wealth by the government in

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

. He died in poverty on March 27, 2003, but his musical influence lives on in such artists as Watoto Wawili, Kabwebu Kitambala, Victorina, Ndoa, Bibi Theresa,

Jadotville Likasi (formerly official names: Jadotville ( French) and Jadotstad (Dutch)) is a city in Haut-Katanga Province, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Demographics Likasi has a population of around 635,000 (2015). During the 1990 ...

, and others.

References

1933 births 2003 deaths People from Haut-Katanga Province Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists 20th-century guitarists 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people {{guitarist-stub