About La Femme De Quelqu’un
La Femme de Quelqu’un, By Singuila and Koffi Olomide, July 2019.
Singer and songwriter Singuila dropped this beautiful bomb on Youtube on July 5, 2019. In about 15 days, it collected almost three million views, which is pretty remarkable. The song builds on the simplicity of most rumba songs. A smooth rhythm with, again, simple arrangements that remind us of anthological Congolese classics such as Africa Mokili Mobimba by legend Kabasele Joseph. There is also a touch of modernity in the arrangement that makes me think this song could stick in the Congolese music landscape for long.
Straightforward Meaning
On the theme side, the song is also pretty interesting, although a bit common. Singuila talks about a lover he took care of. After making her shine to the world, the latter went to get married to an even wealthier hence shinier man. She then becomes inaccessible and very materialistic. The song just gets better when the shinier man happens to be Koffi Olomide, a living legend in Congolese music. Koffi adds some artistic nuances to the rumba tune, which otherwise risks a monotonic end. It is also the proper timing to drop some Lingala lyrics. How would you envision a rumba song without some Lingala anyway?
The shinier man (Koffi) having a good time with his wife in “La Femme de Quelqu’un”!
Is This A Mbuakela?
Beyond the artistic world, many people familiar with the Democratic Republic of the Congo politics could not help but wonder about a connexion with a similar case that generated quite some noise. Sorry for deliberately being vague here. The point though is that the song reminded me of Franco, Madilu, O.K. Jazz, and their “Systeme Mbuakela”. They coined the word to describe how musicians would settle their accounts through songs. Nothing can guarantee it is the case with this song but then again, that’s the point with Mbuakelas. You cannot prove I am talking about you. I will write about System Mbuakela latter for those interested. Stay tuned.
I also worked on the song lyrics and the English translation, in case you are interested. They’re on the following page.
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Next Page: Lyrics and Translation
Here is a video of La Femme De Quelqu’un.
You are brilliant. I love Congolese music, I always have. I can pick up a little of the Lingala but it’s beautiful to understand the whole picture and not just translate drips and drabs.