Early career Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu was born on 13 November 1940 in
Bagata, in the then
Belgian Congo. He attended the École Moyenne Saint Raphaël in
Limete, where his education later helped him secure a position in the secretariat of the Athenaeum of
Kalina (
Athénée de Kalina). At the same time, mainly out of personal interest, he sang with a small band whose name echoed Afric'Ambiance and performed in a bar at the corner of École and Kigoma streets in the
Kinshasa commune. During a period when
Western films dominated Kinshasa's cinemas, such as Macoley on Kigoma Street, Siluvangi on Croix-Rouge, and Mbongo Mpasi on Ruzizi Street in the Casamar
quartier of
Barumbu, the popular youth style was inspired by the
Bills subculture, and Tabu Ley often appeared wearing a scarf around his neck. After finishing high school he joined the band as a full-time musician. Tabu Ley sang in the pan-African hit "
Indépendance Cha Cha" which was composed by Grand Kallé for Congolese independence from Belgium in 1960 and propelled Tabu Ley to instant fame. He remained with African Jazz until 1963 when he and
Dr Nico Kasanda formed their own group,
African Fiesta. Along with
Franco Luambo's TPOK Jazz, Afrisa was now one of Africa's greatest bands. They recorded hits such as "Sorozo", "Kaful Mayay", "Aon Aon", and "Mose Konzo". They performed also at the
Zaire 74 and therefore are in the documentary film
Soul Power. In the mid 1980s Tabu Ley discovered a young talented singer and dancer,
Mbilia Bel, who helped popularise his band further. M'bilia Bel became the first female soukous singer to gain acclaim throughout Africa. Tabu Ley and M'bilia Bel later married and had a daughter named Melody Tabu together. In 1988 Tabu Ley introduced another female vocalist known as Faya Tess, and M'bilia Bel left and continued to be successful on her own. After M'bilia Bel's departure, Afrisa's influence along with that of their rivals TPOK Jazz continued to wane as fans gravitated toward the faster version of soukous. After the establishment of
Mobutu Sese Seko regime in the Congo, he adopted the name "Tabu Ley" as part of Mobutu's
Zairization of the country, but later went into exile in
France in 1988. In 2000, he was part of the supergroup Haute Tension, alongside
King Kester Emeneya,
Werrason, Manda Chante,
Bill Clinton Kalonji, and Adricha Tipo-Tipo, with their nine-track album
Apocalypse, which was produced by Jacko Sayala through his record label Jacko Production. By the end of 2001, reports indicated that he was considering a return to music, He was also scheduled to perform at the LCS venue in Paris on 30 November, along with his dancers, the Love-Ley, and musicians from the Dynastie band. However, the concert was canceled because the musicians and dancers were unable to get their visas, due to the widespread "
Ngulu" phenomenon, where some music officials used the visa process for personal gain by sending non-musicians in place of real artists, which created an unfair system that negatively impacted legitimate musicians trying to work internationally. As a result, Tabu Ley and other artists found themselves trapped between the battle against visa system abuse and the obstacles that prevented them from continuing their musical careers abroad. == Political career ==