'Makossa' is a type of
music which is most popular in urban areas in
Cameroon. It is similar to
soukous, except it includes strong bass rhythm and a prominent
horn section. It originated from a type of
Duala dance called
kossa, with significant influences from
jazz,
ambasse bey,
Latin music,
highlife and
rumba. While the makossa style began in the 1950's, the first recordings were not seen until a decade later. Artists such as
Eboa Lotin,
Misse Ngoh and especially
Manu Dibango popularized the style outside of Cameroon in the later 1960s. 'Makassi' is a lighter style of makossa.
Sam Fan Thomas developed and popularised this variation in the mid-1980s and made makossa potentially more marketable.
[1]
The two musicians largely credited with modernising makossa are Manu Dibango and Emmanuel Nelle Eyoum. Eyoum start using the term 'kossa, kossa' in his songs with his group "Los Calvinos". But it was Emmanuel 'Manu' Dibango which popularised it to the world with his song "Soul Makossa" which came out in the early '70s with the famous chant 'mamase mamasa mamakossa', which was later used by
Michael Jackson in "
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and
Rihanna in "
Don't Stop The Music" ('ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa').
Makossa artists
★
Eboa Lotin
★
Richard Bona
★
Ekambi Brillant
★
Marthe Zambo
★
Guy Lobe
★
Jacky Kingue
★
Misse Ngoh
★
Manu Dibango
★
Moni Bile
★
Lapiro de M'Banga
★
Bebe Manga
★
Sam Fan Thomas
★
Zangalewa
★
Koto Bass
★
Ndedi Dibango
★
Yerima Afo Akom
★
John Minang
★
Sergeo Polo
★
Ben Decca
★
Petit-Pays
★
Dina Bell
★
Toto Guillaume
★
Douleur
★
Marcel Bwanga
Notes
1. West 19.
References
★ West, Ben (2004). ''Cameroon: The Bradt Travel Guide''. Guilford, Connecticut: The Globe Pequot Press Inc.
External links
★
Watch Makossa music videos