Tshala Muana

About Tshala Muana

Known as the Mamu Nationale and the Queen of Mutuashi, Tshala Muana was the defining voice of Congolese tradi-moderne — the modern reworking of Luba rhythms that connected village dance tradition to Kinshasa's electric stages. Her 1986 breakthrough 'Karibu Yangu' carried the Luba mutuashi rhythm across East Africa on Swahili-language radio, and through three decades she remained one of the genre's clearest arguments for women's centrality in Congolese popular music.