Lucie Eyenga

Lucie Eyenga Moseka was a vocalist, and one of the early pioneers of Congolese rumba music. She was born in Bandaka (formerly Coquelathville) in the Belgian Congo. She was discovered in 1954 by virtuoso guitarist Zacharie Elenga "Jhimmy," and was signed to the Opika label. At Opika, she proved herself to be an improvisational and expressive singer, as well as an accomplished musical arranger. Her songs placed an emphasis on vocal harmonies, and hits such as Ohé Suka ya Rhumba and Mokili Makalamba endeared her to a generation. She was soon noticed by Joseph Kabasele, and her reputation continued to grow as a member of the orchestra African Jazz between 1954 and 1956. Towards the end of the 1950s with the close of the Opika label, Eyenga transitioned to the Esengo label as did many colleagues of the time. Her career continued to reached new heights between 1957 and 1958 with the Orchestre Rock A Mambo where she contributed to such hits as Brigitte, Mabe na yo moko, Dit moninga, Nasepeli mingi, and Zozo moke. Following the closing of Editions Esengo and the breakup of Rock-a-Mambo, in 1960 her career took a brief hiatus until she reappeared in Brazzaville with the Orchestre Negro-Band where she recorded the memorable songs Adoula and Georgette. In 1983 she again resurfaced to play with L'Orchestre African Fiesta Sukisa lead by Dr. Nico Kasanda. The Congolese music scene lost one of its greatest female voices of all time on December 12, 1987 when Lucie Eyenga died in Kinshasa.