Samba Mapangala’s Race to Save The Mountain Gorilla

“Les Gorilles des Montagnes” an upbeat dance song commissioned by WWF to increase awareness of conservation in the Congo Basin, begins with the still-stunning, instantly recognizable a cappella prelude to his 1981 hit “Tolinga Virunga” (We Love Virunga). But then the beat drops into a beautiful new melody and lyrics telling of the need to preserve the rare mountain gorillas and their fragile environment, and expressing gratitude to the park rangers who risk their lives daily to prevent poaching and illegal charcoal production. WWF will use this music to reinforce its efforts in East Africa and Congo, especially in the Goma and Bukavu regions where years of war and turmoil have impacted the gorillas’ habitat in the Virunga mountains, home to around half of the world’s remaining 700 mountain gorillas.

“Music is such a natural way to spread a message in Africa, and I’m thrilled with the positive and uplifting message Samba has created in “Les Gorilles des Montagnes,” says Matthew Lewis, Senior Program Officer for African species conservation with WWF.
Adds Samba: “I am so happy to be helping the WWF protect the wildlife and the environment of the beautiful Virunga mountains, from where I took the name of my band Orchestre Virunga in 1980.”

On Sept. 29, Samba made a personal appearance to launch the song at the International Conservation Council Forum bi-cameral hearing and reception on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, attended by representatives of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership member nations Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, and Rwanda.

DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY OF THE SONG

SAMBA MAPANGALA’S VIDEO ON AMBIANCE CONGO

Visit the World Wildlife Fund’s site for information on efforts to save the mountain gorillas

Samba Mapangala to headline Obama Inaugural

Samba and his U.S.-based Virunga contingent have been invited to play at one of the Presidential Inauguration Balls in Washington DC on Jan. 20. And not just any one, this is the invitation-only black-tie gala “Africa on the Potomac: The Pan-African Inaugural Celebration of President Barack Obama,” co-hosted by the Government of the Republic of Kenya, African Diplomatic Corps, African Union, African Professionals in Washington DC, and the Corporate Council on Africa. Among the distinguished guests will be Madame Sarah Obama, the paternal grandmother of the President-Elect, the Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, various African ambassadors, and private and public sector leaders. The event takes place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA, where the assembled dignitaries will be entertained by Samba Mapangala and Virunga, and the acclaimed Boys Choir of Kenya.

Samba has also kicked off the new year with a new release of live recordings from his 2007 North American tour. The digital-only album, Samba Mapangala and Virunga: Live on Tour, is available now as a download from CD Baby.com, and will be followed by a compact disc release later in the year. It also includes bonus remixes of “Obama Ubarikiwe” (Obama Be Blessed), a praise song written and recorded by Samba during the presidential campaign last year in recognition of how proud Africans are of Obama’s achievements and candidacy. Downloads for review by press and media are available on line; please request the password for access.

Then in February 2009, Samba travels to East Africa to headline the 6th annual Sauti za Busara Festival held Feb. 12-17 in Zanzibar, Tanzania, for which his Nairobi-based Virunga outfit will be augmented by his long-time colleagues and collaborators from Congo by way of Paris, acclaimed lead guitarist Syran Mbenza and drummer extraordinaire Komba Bellow. The group then returns to Nairobi for additional concerts in February to be announced.

C C Smith

OBAMA UBARIKIWE-WATCH THE VIDEO

African video of the week-Obama mania

International Musicians Line Up Behind Obama
Democratic Presidential candidate inspires musical tributes from Kenya, Jamaica, Japan and more.
by Tom Pryor
10/27/08

Mighty Sparrow: “Barack The Magnificent”
Cocoa Tea: “Barack Obama”
Jose Conde: “Respondele a Obama”
Kenge Kenge: “Obama For Change”
Samba Mapangala: “Obama Ubarikiwe”
Extra Golden: “Obama”
It’s been a long, strange Presidential campaign season here in the U.S. – the longest in modern history, in fact. And it’s gone on long enough to spawn all manner of campaign-related musical weirdness—from the
Obama Girl to “It’s Raining McCain”.

But outside of the U.S., things have been getting even weirder. In an unusual twist for an American Presidential campaign, musicians from around the world have been recording songs in support of the Obama campaign. Jamaican reggae stars, African guitar slingers, Japanese pop bands and more have been throwing their support behind the Democratic nominee. And, predictably enough, they’ve been finding their way onto YouTube and, occasionally, the radio.

DJ Rob Weisberg of New Jersey radio station WFMU has been collecting these songs for months. On November 1st, Weisberg will host a special pre-election program focusing on world music songs about Obama.

“I first heard about a couple of ‘official’ campaign songs in Spanish, in particular a mariachi song called ‘Viva Obama’ credited to ‘Amigos de Obama’ that emerged on YouTube during the primaries,” He explains. “Then something popped into my inbox about Kenyan back-to-the-roots group Kenge Kenge doing an Obama song in [the] Luo [language]. And then I learned of a song by the Congolese singer Samba Mapangala… So it occurred to me that there must be more - and indeed, there is.”

In fact, the first track to kick off the international Obamamania was actually released back in 2007, by Kenyan-American group Extra Golden on their album Hera Na Mono. A truly international outfit, Extra Golden teams up American indie rockers Ian Eagleson and Alex Minoff with veteran Kenyan musicians Opiyo Bilongo and Onyango Wuod Omari. In 2006, Bilongo and Omari ran into difficulty securing visas for entry into the United States before their first major tour. Extra Golden’s label, Chicago-based Thrill Jockey records, contacted the office of Senator Obama and asked him to intervene. Mr. Obama, whose father came from Kenya, wrote a letter of support that helped the two secure visas. In gratitude, Extra Golden recorded “Obama”, a guitar-driven praise song based around the sparkling benga guitar pop sound made popular by the Luo people in Kenya. Since then some of the most popular songs to emerge have been the aforementioned Kenyan group Kenge Kenge’s “Obama For Change” and singer Samba Mapangala’s”Obama Ubarikiwe”(”Obama Be Blessed”).

It’s not surprising that Obama is attracting such fulsome support from African musicians, given his Kenyan roots. But the musical love is coming from other parts of the globe, too, especially the Caribbean and Latin America. Trinidadian calypso legend Mighty Sparrow kicked things off back in February with “Barack The Magnificent”. Which was soon followed by “Barack Obama” from Jamaican reggae veteran Cocoa Tea’s (picured). Perhaps the most effective song, campaign-wise, Cocoa Tea’s easy-skanking roots jam repeats the candidate’s last name a whopping 67 times.

Meanwhile next-generation Cuban-American musician Jose Conde has led the Latin musical continguent with ” Respondele a Obama”, and Japan’s somewhat obscure Anyone Brothers Band has turned in a kooky J-Pop rave-up ” Obama Is Beautiful World”. And, according to Weisberg, there are even more Obama recordings out there.

“So far I have over twenty songs,” he says. “Including a couple contributed specifically for the occasion: The NY-based West African trad group Fula Flute is currently in the studio recording their second CD. The group’s leader Sylvain Leroux spotted my call for Obama songs online and whipped something up … And a listener named Ruben Gonzalez sent in a nice earthy alt-Latin tune he composed called ‘Voy Por Obama’.”

Though both the Obama and McCain campaigns were both unnable to comment before this story’s deadline, it’s a fair assumption that Obama’s appeal to musicians and artists from other parts of the globe is based on the candidate’s background and international upbringing. Born to an American mother and Kenyan-American father, Obama also spent part of his childhood in Indonesia. Says musician Sylvain Leroux, “I feel like [Obama] is someone who understands the world we live in… his international background gives me hope that he has a little more understanding of what this world is really about. Especially with regards to Africa, which is my own area of interest.”

And whatever your own political predilictions are, don’t forget to vote on November 4th

WATCH OBAMA UBARIKIWE MUSIC VIDEO BY SAMBA MAPANGALA FEAT. FANAKA

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