| Biography | Staff Benda Bilili are a group of street musicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They used to live around the grounds of the zoo in the country's capital city, Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in rumba, with elements of old-school rhythm 'n' blues and reggae. The core of the band consists of four senior singers/guitarist, who are all disabled (they had poliomyelitis when they were young) and move around in spectacularly customized tricycles. They are backed by a younger rhythm section consisting of abandoned street children who were taken under the protection of the older members of the band. The soloist is an 18 year-old boy (2009) who plays guitar-like solos on an electrified one-stringed lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can.
Staff Benda Bilili have earned the 2009 Artist Award at Womex (World Music Expo)
Staff Benda Bilili have sought to raise awareness about crimes against humanity in Democratic Republic of the Congo, contributing to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation.
Staff Benda Bilili was formed by Ricky Likabu and Coco Ngambali with other disabled musicians, as other bands in Kinshasa would not work with them. They were later joined by a teenager, Roger Landu, who fashioned his own instrument from an empty fish can, a piece of wood and a guitar string. The band rehearsed in Kinshasa zoo, because it was a quiet location, and played the streets of Kinshasa until they were heard by Vincent Kenis, a Belgian record producer specialising in Congolese music, who arranged for the band to record their debut album, Tres Tres Fort ("Very Very Strong"). |