KAI KAI

Early History
Kai Kai was born in Lubumbashi in Zaire (then known as the Belgian Congo) in 1946. He started singing in the catholic Church in the township of Kenya when he was seven years old.

At age seventeen he had to relocate with his family to another province as a result of the political turmoil. There again he developed his singing skills in a Catholic Church.

In 1996 he joined his first band, "ORI JAZZ", when he was twenty two years old. By now he had already had some twelve original compositions which were well known and liked by the people. "ORI JAZZ" welcomed him, his songs and fresh ideas and vitality. The older singer however, fearing competition, relegated him to playing a minor role in the band. As the band became more popular Kai Kai became more disillusioned. After a few months he quit and concentrated on developing his skills further, outside of live performances. He returned to his parents. During this time he also started playing the trumpet.

INTERMEDIARY YEARS
At age 28 in 1974, Kai Kai felt the time was right to perform once more. He approached a popular Zairian singer, Baba Gaston, asking to join his band. Within a few months Baba Gaston and his band became more popular with Kai Kai's contribution. They recorded an album in Nairobi in Kenya, which created a buzz all over central, and Eastern Africa. In the meanwhile, the band became dissatisfied with the way Baba Gaston was handling their money affairs. They split from their leader to form a new band "MANGELEPA" which boosted a line-up consisting of 2 guitars, bass guitar, drums, saxophone, 2 trumpets and trombone. Kai Kai was on lead vocals and trumpet. Very soon this band became extremely popular. In 1978 they recorded an album titled "Nyako Konya" (a Kenyan dialect meaning"give me strength") which sold well in countries like Zaire, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi and even as far afield as Japan. In 1980 they received a gold disc from Polygram records for sales in excess of 65 000 units. In 1982 Kai Kai had to leave the band in Zambia to attend to family matters back home in Lubumbashi.

RECENT HISTORY
With political upheavals exacting its toll on the county in 1994, Kai Kai decide to head to South Africa. It was also time for change in his musical career. In Johannesburg he formed a band which immediately created a stir, as a result of the optimism pervading the country after its newly acquired freedom and democracy. South Africans, after years of isolation from the rest of Africa, were opening their ears to true African sounds emanating from Kai Kai.

In 1996 he was approached by Greg Francis (a former OZILA band member) to partake in recordings. The two of them immediately clicked. Greg had exhausted his efforts in trying to find South African singer who could express themselves musically in an African rather than an American or European genre. Their collaborative efforts have yielded "Thank you Madiba".