Kwassa kwassa (or kwasa kwasa) is a dance created by Jeanora, a mechanic in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

from the

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 ...

, that started in the 1980s, where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips. It was very popular in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The dance was popularized by

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

music videos, as well as the videos of

Kanda Bongo Man Kanda Bongo Man (born Bongo Kanda; 1955) is a Congolese soukous musician. Kanda Bongo Man was born in Inongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. He became the singer for Orchestra Belle Mambo in 1973, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Ley. H ...

Pepe Kalle Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish name José (Josep). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms *Pepe (footballer, born 1935), real name José Macia, Brazilian footballer *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), real name Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira, ...

, Viva La Musica, and other Congolese musicians. For the first time in Congo, all the groups adopted these dance steps. This had not happened before because bands preferred to have their own specific dance.

Etymology

According to Jeanora, the words ''kwassa kwassa'' comes from the

Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...

language, meaning "I'm working".Jeanora teaching how to dance "Kwassa kwassa", with

Zaïko Langa Langa Zaïko Langa Langa is a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese soukous band formed in Kinshasa, in 1969. It was established by D. V. Moanda, D.V. Moanda, Henri Mongombe, Marcellin Delo and André Bita, the band evolved from the Orchestre Bel ...

's Nippon Banzai as background music.

Origins

In 1986, the neighborhoods of

were contested by leading Soukous artists and groups such as

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 the ...

and Viva La Musica,

King Kester Emeneya Jean Baptiste Emeneya Mubiala Kwamambu (November 23, 1956 – February 13, 2014) was a Congolese singer best known as King Kester Emeneya. He was born in Kikwit within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While being a student of political scie ...

and many others. A mechanic from Kinshasa, Jeanora, then creates a dance he calls Kwassa kwassa, imitating the use of a

gearshift A gear stick (rarely spelled ''gearstick''), gear lever (both UK English), gearshift or shifter (both U.S. English), more formally known as a transmission lever, is a metal lever attached to the transmission of an automobile. The term ''gear stic ...

. He made numerous performances on Zaire's national television and taught the dance in bars and ngandas. He also claimed that he got an award of "Best vedette of Africa". The dance was widely popularized by Paris-based singer

. Jeanora is currently in

Kongo Central Kongo Central ( kg, Kongo dia Kati ), formerly Bas-Congo is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the g ...

. This kind of beat is referenced in the 2008 song "

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" is the fourth single by indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released 18 August 2008. The song was rated 67th best song of 2008 by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Background In 2005, Vampire Weekend vocalist Ezra Koenig travelled ...

" by American indie rock band

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, ...

References

Democratic Republic of the Congo music African dances {{DRCongo-stub