But Michael was more than just inspired by the funky rhythms of “Soul Makossa”, which was so popular it was played at parties in America and had become a favorite among radio DJs in New York, who played it on heavy rotation. Michael Jackson decided to poach the song for his hit, “Wanna be startin somethin.” A legal case ensued against Michael and both artists settled out of court. But the sampling of “Soul Makossa” did not end there.
By the point of Manu Dibango’s death, the song had been sampled by 48 artists worldwide, including Rihanna, Jay-Z, The Fugees, Black Eyed Peas, Will Smith, Kanye West, Childish Gambino, Jennifer Lopez and many others.
Manu also served the menu which led to the emergence and global consumption of the Makossa genre from Cameroon.
Charles Lembe, Moni Bilé, Ekambi Brillant, Bébé Manga, Ben Decca, Dina Bell, les Black Styl – the music group which produced Makossa’s first arranger, Toto Guillaume were among the next generation of artists who kept the Makossa wheel spinning in slightly different directions from Manu’s Makossa sound. But his legacy remained intact.
Manu’s music was the soundtrack of my childhood and adolescence. His eclectic saxophone notes and hoarse voice rippled through as soundtrack to almost every program on Cameroonian state television, CRTV and numerous radio stations around Africa.
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That also includes the BBC evening radio program, “Network Africa,” together with his composition for film and television.
Manu’s infectious smile and simple style adorn so many a poster on the streets and snack bars of Douala, Yaoundé and other Cameroonian towns; a krobo head that glitters like the moon, coupled with that smile.
When he is not smiling, it is his lips which are perennially kissing a saxophone beneath a pair of dark sunglasses, as he dons different shirt sized multi-color boubou’s and a pair of trousers.
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