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Koffi

Jonathan Mbiriyamveka Entertainment Reporter
Congolese rhumba star Koffi Olomide has urged young musicians to have a passion for music and not sing for money or fame.
The “Loi” singer who was in the country for the wedding of President Mugabe’s daughter Bona and Simba Chikore said good music comes from the heart and not out of love for money.
“They (young musicians)  have to do whatever they do with love. They should not to do it for the money or fame -that is the first thing. Everything must come from the heart or not out of jealousy . . .  music should be in the blood. After being in music for 30 years I can say music is in my blood,” he said.
Asked how much he charged for his appearance at the wedding, Koffi said he offered to perform for free.
“I told them if you can’t give me something it’s okay I never charge for such shows, but I know I’ll be happy afterwards,” he said.
Ordinarily, Koffi who is rated among the top three musicians in Congo including Ferre Gola and Fally Ipupa charges in excess of US$50 000 per show.
Asked about his stage etiquette and designer outfits, Koffi said as an artiste he has to look good and appeal to his fans.
“I go to good designers and choose the best garments that suit me,” he said.
Just to show his love for Harare, Koffi said he was going to feature some of the scenes from his performance on his upcoming DVD album.
“It is part of history and I want to feature some snippets from the performance on my next album that I am currently working on. This is because Harare has been in my heart for a long time,” he said.
When asked to sample one of his songs during the interview Koffi refused saying he is not a small artiste.
“I am not that kind of musician, I am Koffi, okay. You can ask Fally or Ferre to sing for you because they once worked with me. You cannot ask me to sing just like that because I am their boss and I am here for the big wedding so please respect me,” he said.
Koffie could not be drawn into commenting about his family but said he loved his children.
“When you love you don’t count, I love my family  so I don’t count how many kids I have” he said.
Koffie who  last performed in Harare some seven years ago said his music talks about love, Godliness and the ordinary life.
According to his biography, Koffie started out music when he joined  Papa Wemba’s band Viva la Musica at first as a composer and song-writer, and later as a vocalist and lead-singer. He launched his solo career. In 1986, Koffi formed his band known as Quartier Latin, which celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2006. Since then, he has performed and recorded both with the group and by himself. Over the years, he has built up a faithful fan base Internationally, particularly in Africa and Europe.
Koffi  popularised the slower style of soukous, which he dubbed Tcha Tcho. Koffi’s music can be quite controversial, taking on current events and topics considered taboo in some conservative societies. For his effort, “Effrakata”, released in 2001-2002, Koffi received four Kora Awards on a single night at the annual Kora Awards in South Africa for 2002 and 2003, including the award for Best African Artist, which he had earlier won in 1998. More recently, he won the Kora Award for “Best African Artist of The Decade”. This led to the establishment of one of his many aliases as the ‘Quadra Kora Man’.