Manu Dibango

Emmanuel N'Djoké 'Manu' Dibango was born on 12 December 1933 in Douala, Cameroon, to a civil servant father and a dressmaker mother from rival ethnic groups, and moved to France at age 15 to continue his education, where he learned to play the saxophone.

Dibango began his musical career playing in Belgian nightclubs before joining the Congolese rumba group African Jazz, touring Europe in the early 1960s and developing a deep interest in merging jazz with regional African musical styles, particularly the Makossa dance tradition of his native Douala people.

In 1972 Dibango recorded 'Soul Makossa' as the B-side to a celebratory anthem for Cameroon's hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations; after being discovered and championed by legendary New York DJ Frankie Crocker, the track became an international hit, reaching the US charts and establishing Dibango as a global musical force.

'Soul Makossa' went on to become recognised as the most sampled African song in history, influencing artists including Michael Jackson, whose 1982 hit 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' borrowed its iconic refrain, as well as Kool & the Gang, Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West, with Dibango later successfully suing Jackson for uncredited use.

Over a seven-decade career, Dibango recorded more than 50 albums, collaborated with African luminaries including Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita and Fela Kuti, and used music as a vehicle for humanitarian causes; he died on 24 March 2020 in Paris from complications of COVID-19, aged 86, remembered as one of the pioneering architects of world music.