Mbilia Bel

Marie-Claire Mboyo Moseka, known professionally as Mbilia Bel, is a Congolese singer and songwriter. Dubbed the "Queen of African Rumba" and "Queen Cleopatra", she is regarded as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music. Her music blends Congolese rumba, soukous, rap, and zouk, with lyrics that often explore love, politics, hedonism, militancy, jealousy, sentimentality, and education. Mboyo began her recording career at the age of 15 as a member of Abeti Masikini's band Les Redoutables and later worked with Sam Mangwana. She gained significant recognition after joining Tabu Ley Rochereau's Afrisa International in 1981, debuting her lead vocals with the Tabu Ley-written 1982 hit "Mpeve Ya Longo". Mboyo's jointly composed hit "Eswi Yo Wapi" with Tabu Ley won the Best Song award, while she was named Best New Artist. Following several recordings and tours with Afrisa International, she debuted her 1988 solo studio album, Phénomène. In 1991, she released her second studio album, Désolé!!!, followed by 8/10 Benedicta. Her fourth studio album, Yalowa, released in 1996, earned her the Best Female Singer from ACMCO. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbilia_Bel) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)