T.P.O.K.—as the name implied—produced a big sound that propelled dancers around the floor like few other Congolese bands. This was especially true in the 1980’s recordings, when the band was larger ...

In October, the world marked 30 years since the death of Africa’s most famous singer, Franco Luambo Makiadi. That is a coveted position for any living Kenyan artiste. Franco’s fame went beyond his ...

The African guitarist, singer and bandleader known as Franco was the first modern international pop-music superstar in the continent, a sensation not only in his native Republic of the Congo, but ...

Every facet of the life of the late Congolese and African music icon Luambo Makiadi, aka Franco, will be in the spotlight of special content on BBC Swahili marking the 20th anniversary of the artist's ...

A huge bronze statue of a smiling Franco Luambo Makiadi, a guitar strapped to his burly self, towers above Kinshasa; a fitting tribute to arguably the most significant cultural icons that Africa has ...

The best shorthand for the many-named hero christened François Luambo Makiadi and known as Franco is to coin a cliché and call him the James Brown of Africa. As individual artists the two had ...

I love 21st-century music. Lil Wayne, Drive-By Truckers and TV on the Radio are all in my Top 10 albums of 2008. But I'm convinced that the very best music newly released in America in 2008 was ...