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Artist
Madilu System
12+ albums
congoafricanafricasoukousrumba
about
Jean de Dieu Makiese (May 28, 1952 – August 11, 2007), popularily known as Madilu System, was a Soukous singer and songwriter born in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo. He was once a member of T.P.O.K Jazz which dominated African popular music in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Madilu was 19 when he started his career in Kinshasa’s thriving music scene in 1969. Over the next fifteen years he sang with Orchestre Symba, Papa Noel’s Orchestre Bambula, Sam Mangwana’s Festival des Maquisards and his own Orchestre Bakuba Mayopi, but his career thus far neither revealed nor promised anything out of the ordinary (in an extraordinary milieu). It was Franco who made a star of Madilu System (as the big man had dubbed him). "Mamou (Tu Vois)," the record that introduced the new T.P.O.K. Jazz singer, was a hit in 1984. Madilu followed that up with his own composition for the band, "Pesa Position." Then came "Mario" and "Reponse de Mario" in ‘85 and perhaps the best of the Franco-Madilu duets, "La Vie des Hommes" in ’86. Congo has bred singers with more impressive range, more force or sweeter tone than Madilu, but very few who sang with his expressiveness, his ability to vivify character with his voice. It was this quality that Franco appreciated so well. He and Madilu shared the lead vocals on many of Franco’s story-songs, Franco singing the narrative and Madilu assuming the role of the protagonist. When Franco died in 1989, T.P.O.K. Jazz ceased making music for one year, then came together again
