Pépé Kallé

Kabasele Ya Mpanya (1951 in Kinshasa - November 28, 1998), known popularly as Pepe Kalle was a Congolese (DRC) soukous singer, musician and bandleader. Blessed with a multi-octave vocal range and a dynamic stage presence, the six fo

Kabasele Ya Mpanya (1951 in Kinshasa - November 28, 1998), known popularly as Pepe Kalle was a Congolese (DRC) soukous singer, musician and bandleader. Blessed with a multi-octave vocal range and a dynamic stage presence, the six foot three inch (190 cm), 300 pound (136 kg) vocalist recorded more than three hundred songs and twenty albums during his two decade-long career. Known affectionately as "the elephant of African music" and "La Bombe Atomique", Kalle thrilled audiences with his robust performances.

His musical career started with African Jazz, the band of his mentor (whos name he adopted), Grand Kalle. He later become the lead singer of Lipua Lipua, where he sung alongside Nyboma Mwandido. In 1972, Kalle along with Dilu Dilumona and Papy Tex, left Lipua Lipua to form their own band named Empire Bakuba. Empire Bakuba took its name from a Congolese warrior tribe, and it pointedly incorporated rootsy rhythms from the interior, sounds that had long been sidelined by popular rumba. The band was an instant hit, and together with Zaiko Langa Langa they became Kinshasa's most popular youth band. With hits such as Pepe kalle's Dadou and Papy Tex's Sango ya mawa, the band was a constant fixture on the charts.