Her arrest in 2020 for her song Ingratitude certainly had something to do with it : the new strongman , Félix Tshisekedi , a former opponent of Kabila , would have resented the words of a song he believed to be addressed to him , which the author denied after spending a night on the premises of the National Intelligence Agency ! Rewarded on several occasions , notably at the Kora Awards in South Africa in 2003 and the Kunde in Burkina Faso in 2010 , the " Mamu Nationale " (" National Mom "), as she called one of her last albums in 2005 , remained undeniably popular in her country . " Her music is omnipresent . In all the evenings even today , if her songs are not played , the party is not complete ", underlines the promising singer Francesco Nchikala , based in Lubumbashi . " Her repertoire is a library that we use to work on traditional styles ," continues the 30-year-old , aware of the cultural value of the legacy left by Tshala Muana that transcends generations . “ She made all of us dance a Mutuashi sublimated by the hot rhythms of today , continues Yoka Lye . People from outside the region like me didn ' t always understand her Tshiluba songs , but the rhythm was so catchy and new to the whole rumba tradition that we were all hooked in the end . Now , thanks to Tshala Muana , no one can escape Mutuashi : I don ' t know anyone who doesn ' t dance it in the Congo ; and no one on the continent who hasn ' t stamped their feet while listening to key titles such as Malu , Nasi Nabali ( I ' m getting married , a classic of wedding ceremonies ), two of the most bewitching titles , even if all the songs of Tshala Muana are electrified by the very restless Mutuashi .” Purists have sometimes criticized her for having misguided the Mutuashi by obscuring some essential phases of this particularly codified dance , to focus only on the suggestive phase , all in jerks and hips . Unfair trial , argues André Yoka Lye . “ The structure of Mutuashi is the same as that of the Rumba : a first part , soft , which suddenly turns into a frenzied flight requiring a lot of energy .
Tshala Muana with her fans after performing at the Equator Club Philadelphia in 1993 - USA
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Flashmag ! Issue 136 December 2022