Jean de Dieu Makiese (28 May 1952 – 11 August 2007), popularly known as Madilu System, was a
Congolese rumba singer and songwriter, born in what was then
Léopoldville,
Belgian Congo. He was once a member of the seminal band
TPOK Jazz
OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (short for ''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz''), was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco. The group disbanded in 1993, but reformed i ...
which dominated the Congolese scene from 1960s through 1980s.
Music career
Beginning as a teenager in 1969, Madilu sang with a series of bands: "Orchestre Symba", "Orchestre Bamboula", headed by
Papa Noel, "Festival des Maquisards", led by
Sam Mangwana, and Fiesta Popular. In 1973, under the new name Bialu thanks to President
Mobutu's
"authenticité" campaign, he formed the band Bakuba Mayopi which had a hit in 1976 with the song "Pamba-Pamba," after which he left to form a new group called Orchestre Pamba-Pamba.
However, it was not until Madilu teamed up with
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"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ...
, joining his
TPOK Jazz
OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (short for ''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz''), was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco. The group disbanded in 1993, but reformed i ...
in April 1980, that he became a
Congolese and International star. He was described as the band's "brightest vocal talent" during its 1980s heyday. Franco is the one who nicknamed him ''Madilu System'', a name that stuck. Madilu's first hit with TPOK Jazz was "Mamou (Tu Vois)," which became a hit in 1984. He sang in a duet with Franco on the band's biggest hit, "
Mario."
In the 1990s, following the collapse of TPOK Jazz a few years after the death of its leader Franco in 1989, Madilu began his solo career by issuing an album called ''Sans Commentaire''.
At the beginning of August 2007, Madilu traveled to Kinshasa to shoot videos for his new songs. He collapsed on Friday, 10 August 2007. He was taken to the University Hospital in Kinshasa, where he died the next morning, Saturday 11 August 2007.
The Music Career of Madilu System
/ref> His last album, ''La Bonne Humeur'', was released posthumously.
Discography
* ''Sans Commentaire'' (1993)
* ''Album '95'' (1995)
* ''L'eau'' (1999)
* ''Pouvoir'' (2000)
* ''Tenant du Titre'' (2003)
* ''Bonheur'' (2004)
* ''La Bonne Humeur'' (2007)
See also
* Franco Luambo Makiadi
* Sam Mangwana
* Josky Kiambukuta
Joseph Kiambukuta Londa, known as Josky Kiambukuta, (14 February 1949 – 7 March 2021) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese performing artist, singer, songwriter and composer. As a member of TPOK Jazz he played alongside François ...
* TPOK Jazz
OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (short for ''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz''), was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco. The group disbanded in 1993, but reformed i ...
References
External links
Madilu System Biography and Discography
{{Authority control
20th-century Democratic Republic of the Congo male singers
1952 births
2007 deaths
TPOK Jazz members
21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo male singers
21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people