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🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | 03h00 - 06h00 Happy New Month🎶🥳✨ Welcome to the Sunday edition of Music of Africa, with @ms_ndikumana, where you’ll be traversing through the continent sonically, exploring the music, art, culture, and history of the people of Africa. 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #AfricaHistory #AfricanMusic #DRC #sabcnews

🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | SOUL ON THE HEEL 🇨🇩🇨🇬 Born on the banks of the Congo River, Congolese Rumba became one of Africa’s most influential musical exports. 🌍🎶 But did you know its story stretches all the way to Cuba? Blending Central African musical traditions with Afro-Cuban influences, Congolese rumba developed into a distinctive sound defined by soulful vocals, intricate electric guitars, infectious rhythms, and romantic storytelling. From Grand Kallé and Franco to Tabu Ley Rochereau and Papa Wemba, generations of musicians transformed this sound into a cultural movement that traveled across Africa and beyond. It influenced the evolution of soukous, shaped dance-floor sounds across East and Central Africa and became a soundtrack to love, celebration, identity, and everyday life. In 2021, UNESCO recognised Congolese rumba as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, acknowledging its extraordinary cultural significance. So, whether you know it through its irresistible guitar melodies, the legendary sebene, or its timeless love songs, there is so much more to discover. 🎧 Start with Indépendance Cha Cha by Grand Kallé, Mario by Franco or Yolele by Papa Wemba. This is more than music. This is history, heritage, and African creativity in motion. How much do you know about Congolese Rumba? 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #CongoleseRumba #AfricanMusic #AfricanMusicHistory #DRC #sabcnews

🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | LEGEND OF THE WEEK Some people make numbers add up. Others make them rhyme. Botshelo Mbhomboti does both. ✍🏾📚 Our LEGEND OF THE WEEK is celebrating a young South African author who is challenging conventional approaches to education by bringing poetry into the worlds of accounting, taxation, and mathematics. From publishing her debut book at just 19 to building a collection of educational poetry, Botshelo is showing us that learning doesn’t have to be limited to formulas, figures, and textbooks. Her publications include A Black Child Transformed by Accounting, The Poetic Atmosphere of Income Tax, and The Poetic Atmosphere of Mathematics. A trainee accountant, poet, and creative thinker, she is using an unconventional approach to make complex subjects more accessible, particularly for young learners. Her story is a reminder that innovation sometimes begins with the courage to see possibilities where others see limitations. Who said numbers couldn’t have a poetic side? This week, we celebrate Botshelo Mthomboti, a young woman turning knowledge into creativity and redefining how we think about learning. 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #LegendofTheWeek #Author #Maths #sabcnews

🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | TRAVEL CORNER 🇨🇩 Have you ever imagined exploring a country where the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest meets mighty rivers, spectacular waterfalls, extraordinary wildlife, and a vibrant cultural heritage? 🌍 Welcome to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); one of Africa’s most geographically and culturally fascinating countries. From the energetic streets of Kinshasa, where music, fashion, and Congolese rumba shape everyday expression to the breathtaking beauty of Zongo Falls, there is an incredible story to discover. And the sights? 🌿 The Congo Basin: Explore the extraordinary rainforest ecosystem, home to remarkable biodiversity and some of the planet’s most important tropical forests. 🦧 Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary: Discover bonobos, our close evolutionary relatives, at a sanctuary dedicated to rescuing and caring for these endangered great apes. 💦 Zongo Falls: Take in the spectacular cascading waters surrounded by lush tropical vegetation in Kongo Central. 🌋 Virunga National Park: A landscape of volcanoes, mountain forests, and extraordinary wildlife, internationally recognised for its natural significance. 🏞️ The Congo River: Experience the scale and beauty of one of the world’s great river systems, a defining feature of Central African geography and history. 🎶 Kinshasa’s cultural scene: Immerse yourself in Congolese rumba, a musical tradition recognised by UNESCO, alongside the country’s art, food, fashion, and vibrant urban culture. The DRC is also home to five UNESCO World Heritage natural sites, including Salonga National Park and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve; a testament to its extraordinary natural wealth. Whether your interests lie in ecotourism, wildlife conservation, cultural tourism, photography, or exploring Africa’s natural wonders, the DRC offers an extraordinary wealth of experiences to learn about. Africa is vast. Its stories are many. And the DRC is a world of its own. How much of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have you discovered? 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #Travel #DiscoverAfrica #DRC #sabcnews

🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | SPOT THE SOUNDTRACK 🇨🇩 QUESTION: Which biographical film, directed by Raoul Peck, features Grand Kallé and African Jazz performing Table Ronde live? Cast your vote below! Answer to be revealed at the end of the show. 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #KnowYourAfrica #AfricanMusic #Film

🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | LOST IN TRANSLATION 🇨🇩 Mbongwana Star – Kala 🇨🇩 Released: 2015 Album: From Kinshasa 🎶 There’s a powerful message of community, identity, and national pride behind “Kala” by Mbongwana Star? Released in 2015 on their album From Kinshasa, “Kala” is a vibrant musical expression from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The repeated phrase, “Bito ba mwela, we represent the village,” places community and collective identity at the heart of the song. It speaks to representing where you come from, carrying your people’s identity, and recognising that you are part of something bigger than yourself. The lyrics also invoke the imagery of light and standing for one’s country, suggesting a message of belonging, pride, and collective responsibility. There is something particularly powerful about the idea of representing your village. It reminds us that wherever we go, we carry our roots, our communities, and the stories that shaped us. Mbongwana Star’s “Kala” is an invitation to celebrate identity, honour our origins, and remember that we can be a light for the communities we represent. 🌍 A sound from Kinshasa with a message that reaches far beyond its borders. 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #Lyrics #DRC #Kala #sabcnews

🔴 ON AIR NOW | MUSIC OF AFRICA | SPOT THE SOUNDTRACK 🇨🇩 🎬🎶 DID YOU KNOW? Congolese rumba played a part in telling the story of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s independence? In 1960, legendary Congolese musician Joseph Kabasele, better known as Grand Kallé, and his band, L’African Jazz, performed Table Ronde, a song named after the historic Round Table Conference held in Brussels, where Congolese leaders and Belgian representatives negotiated the country’s independence. The negotiations took place between 20 January and 20 February 1960, paving the way for the Belgian Congo to become independent on 30 June that year. This remarkable musical moment also features in Lumumba (2000), a biographical film directed by Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck. The film chronicles the political journey of Patrice Lumumba, the DRC’s first prime minister, exploring the country’s struggle for independence, the political tensions that followed, and his eventual assassination. Featuring music associated with the independence era, including Table Ronde and Indépendance Cha Cha, the film connects Congolese rumba with one of the most defining chapters in the country’s history. It’s a reminder that African music is more than entertainment. It preserves memories, captures political moments, and gives expression to the hopes and aspirations of a people. History has a soundtrack, and sometimes, it’s Congolese rumba. 🎶 📱: 061 410 4107 📱: 41391 🎙️: @ms_ndikumana & @__Kozay #SAfmMusicOfAfrica #KnowYourAfrica #AfricanMusic #Film #sabcnews