Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba commonly known as Papa Wemba (June 14, 1… Read Full Bio ↴Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba commonly known as Papa Wemba (June 14, 1949 – April 24, 2016) was a Congolese rumba, later known as soukous, singer and musician. He was one of Africa's most popular musicians.
Papa Wemba was one of the very first musicians to join the influential Soukous band, Zaiko Langa Langa when it was created on December 24, 1969 in Kinshasa (Capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) along with such well known Congolese musicians as Nyoka Longo Jossart, Manuaku Pepe Felly, Evoloko Lay Lay, Teddy Sukamu, Zamuangana Enock, Mavuela Simeon, and others.

In a Congolese musical world dominated at the time by Franco Luambo and his remarkable band TPOK Jazz, Tabu Ley Rochereau's Afrisa, and by then-new musical groups like Les Grands Maquisards, Le Trio Madjesi, and even younger bands like Bella-Bella, Thu Zaina and Empire Bakuba, the young and talented Papa Wemba (then known as Jules Presley Shungu Wembadio), was one of the driving forces that by 1973 made Zaiko Langa Langa one of the most-performing dominant Congolese groups, featuring such popular numbers as "Chouchouna" (Papa Wemba), "Eluzam" and " Mbeya Mbeya" (Evoloko Lay Lay), "BP ya Munu" (Efonge Gina) and "Zania" (Mavuela Somo).

In December 1974, at the pinnacle of their fame (and just a month after the Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa), Shungu Wembadio (Papa Wemba), along with Evoloko Lay Lay, Mavuela Somo and Bozi Boziana (who'd joined Zaiko Langa Langa a year earlier), left Zaiko Langa Langa to establish their own musical ensemble Isifi Lokole, ISIFI being an acronym for "Institut de Savoir Ideologique pour la Formation des Idoles." In July 1975, Shungu Wembadio officially adopted the soon-to-be-well-known worldwide artist name Papa Wemba, the addition of "Papa" (father) an allusion to what were in fact rather awesome family responsiblities as the first son in a family where both father and mother (Wemba's parents) had been deceased since the 1960s.

The "feux d'artifice" (fireworks) that was Isifi Lokole would only last a year, with the single "Amazone" (Papa Wemba) as its biggest commercial "hit" record. In November 1975, Papa Wemba, Mavuela Somo and Bozi Boziana abandoned Evoloko Lay Lay and Isifi Lokole to create the group Yoka Lokole (also known as The Kinshasha All-Stars, or Lokole Isifi, or simply Isifi), along with Mbuta Mashakado, another Zaiko Langa Langa 'transfusion.' Yoka Lokole enjoyed slightly less popular success than the original Isifi Lokole, but for a time still managed to remain at the top the African pop music wave with hit songs like "Matembele Bangui", "Lisuma ya Zazu" (Papa Wemba), "Mavuela Sala Keba", and "Bana Kin" (Mavuela Somo).

Like Isifi Lokole, the electronic-instrument driven Yoka Lokole (or The Kinshasha All-Stars) would not last much longer than a year, given the merger of so many big-name talents in the band's lineup. After a year of modest success, controversies within Yoka Lokole over money and prestige (complicated by Wemba's arrest and brief incarceration in Kinshasa Central prison in December 1976 for the 'crime' of being suspected of having had physical intimacy with an influential army general's daughter) would lead Papa Wemba, then feeling diminished by peers and neglected by the public, to form his own group Viva la Musica in February 1977.

At his home in the Matonge neighborhood of Kinshasa, Papa Wemba structured Viva la Musica around young talented artists like singers Kisangani Esperant, Jadot le Cambodgien, Pepe Bipoli and Petit Aziza, guitarists Rigo Star, Syriana, and Bongo Wende. The group had nearly instantaneous success, with hit songs like "Mere Superieure," "Mabele Mokonzi," "Bokulaka," "Princesse ya Sinza," and others.

During the height of his success in 1977, Papa Wemba's family home, which had become a popular, some even said hallowed/special place for Matonge youths to gather "à la mode" (i.e., to be cool) was named the "Village Molokai," and Wemba assumed the exalted moniker "Chef Coutumier" (Chief) of the Village of Molokai. In those days people referred to Papa Wemba as the "chief from the heartland (village)" to differentiate him from Kinshasa-born musical bigshots Mavuela Somo and Mashakado. However years later Mavuela would say that their difficulties only simply amounted to trivial foolishness over money, ambition and fame between some very-young people (that at the time they all were).

Since 1977, Viva la Musica has seen both the 'defections' of musicians every two or three years and the entrée and emergence of other new talents. King Kester Emeneya (1977-1982), Koffi Olomide (1978-1979), Djuna Djanana (1978-1981), Dindo Yogo (1979-1981), Maray-Maray (1980-1984), Lidjo Kwempa (1982-2001), Reddy Amissi (1982-2001), Stino Mubi (1983-2001) are among the currently well-known Congolese musicians who have served at one time or another with Viva la Musica. An old Kinshasa anecdote says that a college student then-named Antoine Agbepa Koffi was such an impressive songwriter that one day in 1977 Papa Wemba exhorted, "Ooh! l'homme idee" (Oh! the idea-man!) thereby on-the-spot renaming the impressive young singer-songwriter Koffi 'Olomide'--and the name stuck!

After the wave of African emigration to Europe in the 1990s, Wemba maintained one group in Kinshasa (called at times "Nouvelle Ecriture," "Nouvel Ecrita," and now again "Viva la Musica") and another one in Paris ("Nouvelle Generation," "La Cour des Grands," and now "Viva Tendance"). He has also consistently maintained a very high profile in World Music with such great hits as "L'Esclave" (1986), "Le Voyageur, Maria Valencia" (1992), "Foridoles, Dixieme Commandement" (1994), "Emotion" (1995), "Pole Position" (1996), "Fula Ngenge" (1999), "Bakala dia Kuba" (2001), and "Somo Trop" (2003). Many would assign Wemba the status of African-music "living legend," as few others in history could claim (Franco Luambo, Tabu Ley Rochereau, and Miriam Makeba certainly among them).

Papa Wemba is also known as an actor. In 1987, he played the male lead role in the successful Zairean (Congolese) film La Vie est Belle by Belgian director Benoit Lami and Congolese producer-director Ngangura Mweze.

Zero
Papa Wemba Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tala ngai muana mawa naye
Lel'oyo boyambani nga naye
Mbula na moyi nda baninga
Ya solo moto akokolaba na

Baninga bay'elong kasi nga
Nazanga bandeko pona nini
Nzambe osala nga boye

Bamoni nga pamba
Batali nga zero

Pasi ya mokili nini eh ngai
Balobaka bafingaka nazanga
Parent oh miye sina nduku
Oh miye sina nduku

Na mokili ya nzambe bazali
Papa maman bango nde ba
Nzamba ya nse bango nde basunga yo

Bamoni nga pamba
Batali nga zero

Overall Meaning

The Papa Wemba song "Zero" is a poignant and reflective expression of the difficulties that the singer faces in life, and his despairing thoughts on his own worthlessness. The opening lines speak of his desire to find someone to share his life with, to have a companion to whom he can confess his troubles. However, he laments that nobody seems to be interested, and he is left feeling alone and forsaken. The previous line likely states that people are more inclined to dwell on the negative aspects of his personality, only paying attention to flaws and disregarding his merits.

The song's chorus, "Bamoni nga pamba, batali nga zero," which translates to "They see me as nothing, and they consider me a zero," further emphasizes the singer's feelings of worthlessness. He feels like a failure in everything he does and believes that everyone else thinks the same. The verses that follow continue to describe the singer's troubles, his disillusionment with the world, and his feeling of being disrespected and ignored.

In conclusion, "Zero" is a powerful message about self-worth and the struggle to be seen as something more than a mere statistic. Papa Wemba expresses his frustration with the harsh realities of life and how it can be difficult to find someone who understands and supports us. It’s a message of hope that urges listeners to keep moving forward despite life’s obstacles and setbacks.

Line by Line Meaning

Tala ngai muana mawa naye
Listen to me, my dear child

Lel'oyo boyambani nga naye
Look, you're wandering around with me

Mbula na moyi nda baninga
Rain and night are coming

Ya solo moto akokolaba na
And the lone motorbike is running

Baninga bay'elong kasi nga
The people around me are rich

Nazanga bandeko pona nini
But I feel lonely, why?

Nzambe osala nga boye
God forgives me

Bamoni nga pamba
They look at me with disdain

Batali nga zero
They call me a zero

Pasi ya mokili nini eh ngai
What's happening in this world?

Balobaka bafingaka nazanga
People are coming and going, but I'm still here