In video after video, dance scene after dance scene, reels after reels, it becomes clear that the best dancers in Africa are, without question, the Congolese.
By Chimezie Chika
One of the most common sights across social media in 2024 was seeing young and old people from around the world dancing mopacho—that wonderfully symmetrical movement of the legs and waist to the rumba-like beats of songs such as Afara Tsena’s “Afro Mbokalisation”, with the torso held at an askew angle.
As a dance, mopacho mixes traditional Lingala dance forms, some retro soukous moves, and legwork aesthetics from across Francophone Africa. As has been proven many times in the last decade, the ripple effect of a social media trend can be quite influential on the marketability of a music genre.
It is little surprise, then, that the popularity of mopacho has even helped revive older songs such as Roga Roga and Extra Musica’s “Bokoko” and DJ Antivirus’ “Ondama”.
Even after mopacho became the signature dance across the Francophone world in 2024, its best practitioners remain the citizens of its country of origin: the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, as it is more commonly known, to distinguish it from its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Congo-Kinshasa.
While both countries share similar language and cultures—their capitals, Brazzaville and Kinshasa, sit directly opposite each other on the Congo River—the one counterpoint here would be Congo-Brazza’s relative political stability, as against the DRC’s well-reported volatility, and Congo-Brazza’s more storied dance culture. And that music is rooted in Sape—the idiosyncratic Congolese lifestyle and culture.
Sape culture derives its style from Lingala urban and cultural sensibilities. Sape practitioners are called sapeurs—and their biggest feature is a dandyfied fashion sense and a carefree life in which enjoyment and leisure is given the highest priority.
Sapeur fashion combines European traditional dress forms, such as suits, with the flamboyant prints of African textiles to create a strikingly colourful mix of fabrics and unconventional tailoring. The history of Sape is rooted in anticolonial revolution, emerging as a response to the segregation and poverty experienced by Africans in the Congo region during colonial rule.
The general rationale behind Sape is that, for Africans, European suits symbolised the privilege and wealth associated with European colonial officers. However, the infusion of African prints into the suit gave it a distinctly African identity—representing community, brotherhood, and culture, with music playing a significant role.
To embody La Sape is to assert the African’s ownership of his wealth and culture while exuding unrestrained confidence and belonging to the Personnes Élégantes.
This outward manifestation of cultural extravagance finds purchase in the music culture. It is the Congolese tendency to dance away its sorrows (for certain, this is not related to the Congo alone). Little wonder then that Congo-Brazzaville has been the origin of many defining music genres and dance styles—including rumba and soukous.
As a consequence, many era-defining musicians from Africa and the Francophone world have hailed from the Congos, such as Papa Wemba, Kofi Olomide, Awilo Logomba, and more recently, Fally Ipupa, among others. Like its music, Congolese dance embodies the same flair for cultural extravagance.
To dance in the ekongo style, one must possess exceptional flexibility in the waist and limbs, along with at least a moderate level of athleticism, as acrobatics are almost always a feature of these dance styles. Each movement seems meticulously planned yet effortlessly spontaneous, flowing seamlessly into the next.
In 2024, Congolese dances that went viral on the internet were particularly captivating. Video after video, scene after scene, reel after reel, left no doubt that the best dancers in Africa are, unquestionably, the Congolese.
How can one even begin to describe the seamless, effortless, almost diaphragm-less movement of the waist? Or the sinuous transitions from the waist to the legs? It’s nothing short of a small miracle of bodily kinetics.
Mopacho led the way, with popular dancers like Levi Cabutu (aka King of Mopacho), Emahus, and Ruth. Apart from “Afro Mbokalisation”, another song Mopacho dancers often find amenable to their designs is the thrilling beats of B One Shakazulu’s “Le Savoir”. Other dances that featured prominently in Congolese music trends included Ngandou, Koyimbiko, and Araignée, as well as combinations of these styles (and others) with mopacho.
Afara Tsena’s song “Mboka Mopaya” also trended almost as heavily as the first, with mopacho dancers drawing on its rhythm, as well in Rossignol’s “Wobokele” which featured Afara Tsena. Famous Congolese musician, Fally Ipupa also had a number of popular releases this year: “Alliance” and “207” featuring Rene Soso Pembe (including a collaboration with Nigerian singer, Oxlade on “IFA”; he had previously featured in Flavour’s “Berna”).
Dancer, Levi Cabutu, often appears in Fally Ipupa’s concerts. Petit Fally’s release “Diki Diki” took the Francophone stage by storm. Legendary musician, Awilo Longomba, had a popular release, “Mbongo na Ngai Moko” ft Innoss’B. Meanwhile, Beninese music icon, Angelique Kidjo, known for her distinct style, collaborated with Nigerian singer Davido on the uplifting track “Joy”.
One of the biggest songs of the year is French artiste, Dadju’s “I Love You” featuring TayC. Its emotion-heavy lyrics about the reiteration of love, romance, commitment, and companionship resonated with several millions across the globe.
Young Congolese-French singer, Jungeli, continued his remarkable rise with the success of his beautiful breakthrough song, “Petit Genie” (featuring Imen Es, Alonzo, Abou Debeing, and Lossa), which debuted in 2023 and maintained its momentum well into 2024.
This year, the 17-year-old, who began his career in July 2023 with the release of his first single, “A Moir,” also featured on Emma’a’s “Biso Mibale.” His distinct masculine velvet tones provided a perfect complement to Emma’a’s feminine dulcet voice.
His other big songs in 2024 include “T’etais ou?” featuring Alonzo, Zaho, and Vegedream (who is better known for the France 2018 World Cup song “Ramenez la coupe à la maison”) and “Evidemment” ft Dadju. Both songs are the major singles of Jungeli’s new album, En Attendant Pour Le Peuple.
Music from Francophone Africa has long been some of the most holistic on the continent. Countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, with its makossa, have national identities deeply rooted in music.
Traditional music from Mali, with the likes of Salif Keita, and dances from Senegal, including the enigmatic saber dance, deserve mention. But there are countries that are so completely born of music that everything about their national and international pedigree traces back to music: Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa, especially the first.
Chimezie Chika’s short stories and essays have appeared in or forthcoming from, amongst other places, The Weganda Review, The Republic, Terrain.org, Isele Magazine, Lolwe, Fahmidan Journal, Efiko Magazine, Dappled Things, Channel Magazine and Afrocritik. He is the fiction editor of Ngiga Review. His interests range from culture, history, to art, literature, and the environment. You can find him on Twitter @chimeziechika1.