Fredy Massamba

Fredy Massamba is, as he says, “uninfluencable musically,” and remains in a class of his own. He takes on the title of “Congo’s voice of Afro-soul,” a reflection of his values and the pride he takes in his musical journey that began in Pointe-Noire and has extended to the four corners of the world. Massamba still bears the stamp of his younger days, notably the Tambours de Brazza from the 1990s, which is still evident on his latest album, Trancestral, in which he transcends his ancestral legacy by bringing it into the future. Free of sentimentality, the singer demonstrates his in-depth knowledge of Congo-Brazzaville’s musical repertoire from the 1960s. 

With Fredy Massamba, we enter into the deep equatorial forest of the Kingdom of Kongo, where the tribes celebrate life’s seasons. We are invited to take part in this entrancing whirlwind with “Buyelele” and “Bandeko” — a hymn to unity without betrayal — made all the more sublime with the voice of Malian griot Djely Tapa, a recent collaborator. Always in tune with the times, this ageless artist is mindful of human and social fragility and the struggles his people face. He becomes a voice for the voiceless, as in the poignant “Keriko.”

As a talented singer-songwriter, Massamba has rubbed shoulders with stars such as Tiken Jah Fakoly, Didier Awadi and Salif Keita and fellow Congolese artists Lokua Kanza and Mory Kanté. All have contributed to enriching the unique repertoire of an artist who, in 2014, was crowned Best World Music Artist at the Sabam Awards. This champion of Congolese rumba and hip-hop artist also draws from soul and reggae to create his unique Fredy Massamba sound.

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