Abeti Masikini

Elisabeth Finant (November 9, 1954 – September 28, 1994), cognomenously known as Abeti Fina‐Masikini or simply Abeti Masikini, was a Congolese singer, composer, bandleader, and philanthropist.

With a nearly three-decades-long career, she was a significant figure in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music.

Often referred to as the "Queen of Soukous", she is noted for advocating gender equality, modernizing Congolese music, and inspiring successive generations of musicians.

Her band, Les Redoutables, was a launching pad for numerous female artists.

Abeti Masikini was born on November 9, 1954, into a Finant family, an upper-middle-class Congolese family of eight children in Stanleyville (now Kisangani), Belgian Congo.

Her father, Jean-Pierre Finant, served as the first native Congolese governor of the Orientale Province in the then Republic of the Congo.

Abeti Masikini's mother, Marie Masikini, was a church's choir-leading vocalist at Institut des Prêtres du Sacré-Coeur (or Collège du Sacré-Coeur: now Institut Maele).

Abeti Masikini began singing as a chorister in her mother's church at an early age.

In 1961, her father, a Lumumbist party adherent, was assassinated in Bakwanga (now Mbuji-Mayi).

The family went into exile in Kinshasa, where Abeti Masikini matriculated at the Lycée Sacré-Cœur (now Lycée Bosangani).

After completing her secondary studies, she worked as a secretary in the office of the Minister of Culture Pierre Mushete.

While working as a secretary, Abeti Masikini's devotion to music swelled.

She later performed at the Olympia Hall alongside Mireille Mathieu and Hugues Aufray, becoming the first African artist to do so since Tabu Ley Rochereau in 1970.

The concert's proceeds were earmarked for a relief fund combatting drought.

Following her stint in Paris, Abeti Masikini leased a residence at Shelburne‐Murray Hill Apartment Hotel for her forthcoming concert in New York.

Born in Kisangani, then part of the Belgian Congo and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Abeti Masikini made her public debut in 1971 after being discovered by Togolese producer Gérard Akueson, following her feat in the Découverte des Jeunes Talents music contest organized by singer Gérard Madiata.

In 1971, she surreptitiously modified her birthdate, claiming to be 20 years old, to participate in the "Découverte des Jeunes Talents", a music contest organized by Gérard Madiata at the Parc de la Révolution (now Kinshasa Botanical Garden), securing the third position.

At the end of 1971, Togolese manager and producer Gérard Akueson, then overseeing singer Bella Bellow, spotted her during a performance in Kinshasa and became her manager.

In mid-1972, bolstered by a few relatives, she established her ensemble, Les Alouettes, with her younger brother, Jean Abumba, as the leading guitarist and performed in more intimate club venues.

Pursuant to the Authenticité doctrine promulgated by President Mobutu Sese Seko, Abeti Masikini relocated to West Africa to continue working on her forthcoming album, touring in Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Guinea, Ghana, and Nigeria, where she met Fela Kuti, and records in the same studio.

Upon her return to Congo, she slipped into obscurity due to the absence of albums in the Congolese music market.

During a recital in Kinshasa at the Palladuim Theater, Abeti Masikini announced that her debut album, Pierre Cardin Présente: Abeti, was nearing completion.

Her debut album, Pierre Cardin Présente: Abeti, released in 1973, propelled her into the limelight, earning televised prominence and selling out numerous concert venues in Europe and the US, including Olympia Hall and Carnegie Hall In the ensuing year, she shared the stage with James Brown, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Miriam Makeba, and Franco Luambo during the opening show of the Rumble in the Jungle in October 1974.

Released in 1973, the album was produced by Les Disques Pierre Cardin, an eponymous label owned by French fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

It featured chart-topping singles such as "Mutoto Wangu", "Bibile", "Aziza", "Miwela", "Safari", and "Papa Yaka".

The album blended blues, soul, and folk melodies, which did not receive critical acclaim from Kinshasa's public.

Abeti Masikini's Swahili-accented voice and eclectic musical influences relegated her to being classified as a "foreign singer".

Despite the skepticism, the album received copious television appearances, with her newly christened ensemble Les Redoutables, as well as her dance troupe Les Tigresses.

While on her way to perform at the Olympia Hall in Paris, scheduled on February 19, 1973, she executed the show "Soleil à Dakar" in Senegal in front of President Léopold Sédar Senghor.

The subsequent month, on March 11, 1974, she wowed the audience at Carnegie Hall with her ensemble and dance troupe, accompanied by electric guitars and bass as well as modern conga drums.

She became one of the "few female African vocalists" to have performed in the US, following Miriam Makeba and her protégée, Letta Mbulu.

In an interview with The New York Times, she conveyed that the fundamental rhythm of her music is African and that African youth are "revolutionizing their music".

Following her Carnegie Hall performance, endeavors were made to organize her nationwide tour across the US.

In September 1974, Abeti Masikini participated in Zaire 74, a promotional musical festival event for the heavyweight boxing championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, billed as The Rumble in the Jungle.

She shared the stage with James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Franco Luambo & OK Jazz, Zaïko Langa Langa, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Bill Withers, B. B. King, and the Spinners.

Her sophomore album La voix du Zaire, l’idole de l’Afrique, released in 1975, earned her numerous European performances.

Throughout her 20-year career, Abeti Masikini has recorded a succession of 21 studio albums for a variety of record labels including Aziza, RCA Records and Polygram Records among others.

In 1975, Abeti Masikini released her second album, La voix du Zaire, l'idole de l'Afrique, featuring hit singles such as "Likayabo", "Ngele Ngele", "Ngoyaye Bella Bellow", "Kiliki Bamba", "Yamba Yamba", "Naliku Penda", "Sungula", and "Acha Maivuno".

She died of uterine cancer on September 29, 1994, in Villejuif, Paris.

She was the first Congolese female artist to lead her own band as well as the first Central African female artist to perform at major venues in Europe and America, such as Zénith Paris, Carnegie Hall, Olympia Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena, and Appollo Theater.