N'Yoka Longo

Jossart N'Yoka Longo (September 7, 1953) is a Congolese singer, songwriter and producer.

Jossart N'Yoka Longo, born on September 7, 1953, in Léopoldville, now known as Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Élisabeth Saka Mayamba and Daniel M'Vula Malembe.

He is the second and last child of this family.

His older sister was named Albertine Longo.

Jossart is a French acronym, "José will be an artist."

He completed his secondary education at Albert Ier College.

Jossart grew up in the Ndjili commune.

He had no intention of becoming a musician and was close to many priests.

He appreciated the music of the young group Los Nickelos, which influenced him and his future Zaïko orchestra colleagues.

After starting his career within Bel Guide National in 1967, he became the third member, after Papa Wemba and Félix Manuaku Waku, of the legendary group Zaïko Langa Langa, of which he later established himself as the main leader.

Jossart N'Yoka Longo began his musical activities by singing in a parish before joining the young group Bel Guide National in 1967, which dissolved in 1969 after administrator D.V. Moanda was impressed by the voice of a young visitor during a rehearsal, a certain Jules Shungu Wembadio, later known as Papa Wemba.

The latter performed Tabu Ley Rochereau's song "Adios Théthé," accompanied by Manuaku on the guitar.

The next day, on December 24, during a meeting, the administrators of Bel Guide decided to dissolve the group and form a new one, keeping Jules and selected members from the newly disbanded group, including N'Yoka Longo and Félix Manuaku Waku.

They then created the Zaïko Langa Langa group.

Tabu Ley was the “godfather” of the new structure.

Zaïko later embodied a whole generation and left several trademarks, including the current "sebene" style, also called the dancing part.

His first song released, “La Tout Neige”, in 1970, was a great success and peaked in the Zairian charts for many weeks from August 1971.

During his long career, he composed numerous hits, including “Sentiment Awa”, “Dédé sur Mesure”, “SVP Mbey” as well as “Paiement Cash”.

In total, Jossart N'Yoka Longo participated vocally in 31 out of 33 official Zaïko Langa Langa studio albums, and published more than fifty singles during the 1970s and early 1980s.

On March 24, 1970, N'Yoka Longo was one of the singers who performed at the first concert of Zaïko Langa Langa at the Dancing Hawaï in Kinshasa, and he released his first song, "La Tout Neige," in 1970, one of the early hits of the group.

In 1971, when President Mobutu launched the Authenticité, Jossart renamed himself N'Yoka Longo M'Vula, taking the name "Longo" from his sister's name.

In 1973, Zaïko Langa Langa was named "Best Orchestra of Zaïre 1973" for the first time, and again the following year.

N'Yoka Longo's older sister passed away in 1973 at the age of 22.

Two of his songs, “Nalali Pongi” and “Sentiment Awa”, were voted "Best song of the year" by the Zairian press, in 1976 and 1979 respectively.

As leader of Zaïko Langa Langa, he has performed on numerous international stages in Europe, America, Asia and Africa, including the Zénith de Paris, the Elysée Montmartre, the Bataclan, the Cirque d’Hiver or even La Madeleine.

The Zaïko orchestra released their second album, titled "Plaisir de l'ouest Afrique," in 1976, recorded in Accra during their tour in Ghana under the direction of Henri Bowane.

N'Yoka Longo wrote the songs "Ma," "Bomuana," and "Saloti."

Jossart expressed his sadness over this difficult experience in the song "Nalali Pongi" (released later in 1976), which was awarded "Best Song of the Year" in 1976 and earned the group the title of "Best Orchestra of the Year."

In 1977, he was selected, along with Likinga Redo, Manuaku Waku, and Mbuta Mashakado, to join the National Orchestra of Zaïre (ONAZA), where he had the opportunity to sing with Tabu Ley Rochereau and participate with them in the Second World Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77) held in Lagos, Nigeria.

His song "Nalali Pongi" was added to the orchestra's repertoire.

N'Yoka Longo recorded a second version of the song "Sentiment Awa" in 1979, which earned him the second position in the ranking of best authors of the year.

The group was ranked as the fourth-best group of the year.

These two albums were recorded in Brussels in 1980 before the creation of Langa Langa Stars and the group's separation from their producer Verckys Kiamuangana in 1981.

In September 1981, the group faced another defection when Evoloko Jocker, Bozi Boziana, and many others left to create the Langa Langa Stars.

The third LP of Zaïko Langa Langa, "Gitta présente le Tout-choc Zaïko Langa Langa," was released in 1981.

N'Yoka Longo composed two songs, "Mobembo" and "Confiance."

In 1982, he became one of the founders of the ProZal label, abbreviation of Production Zaïko Langa Langa, which ensures the production of the ensemble he directs.

In the following album, "Tout Choc," released in 1982, he composed "Amour Suicide."

Already a confirmed legend and a mythical character in Congolese music, he was decorated in December 2015 by former President Joseph Kabila in the Order of the National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba as a Knight.

He was elected PCA of SOCODA in September 2021.