About Staff Benda Bilili
Artist Biography
"Benda Bilili" is Congolese for "look past appearances," a penetrating bit of advice when encountering this unique group of performers. Composed of physically disabled musicians from Kinshasa, Congo, who have set up a semi-permanent encampment near the city zoo, the group includes four older singers and a rhythm section made up of abandoned street kids. Their music is a sweet, smooth, vocal- and percussion-heavy blend of soukous, African rumba, and American soul music. Their remarkable story, coupled with genuinely moving and well-played music, made their 2009 debut album a hot property in world music circles, and the group was also the subject of a documentary by Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye.
Hometown
Kinshasa, Congo
Genre
Worldwide
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