Toyebi Te

Kanza, Lokua
Sunnyside Communications
World | Jul 2002

Reviews

Fo
Reviewed 2002-08-23
LOKUA KANZA – Toyebi Te
Sunnyside, 2002

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Singer/songwriter Kanza’s American debut is a mixed bag. He has a very pleasant voice and a broad outlook: he’s joined not only by a luscious female backing chorus, but by a French rapper (track 15), the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra (#12, 14), and his own children. He sings these acoustic trad/pop songs in French, Lingala, and English, backed mostly by very laid back, quiet music somewhere between traditional rhythms and r&b. Ventures a bit too far into Sting territory at times, but several tracks are very nice.

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1, 2, 5, 8, 13, 16

01. 2:30 – soulful vox & village ambiance
02. 4:16 – relaxed music, pretty vocals
03. 0:30 - interlude
04. 3:26 – melancholy pop, nice riff
05. 4:02 – optimistic love song w/flute
06. 3:39 – passionate but sappy soul
07. 4:10 – cute song about kids leaving
08. 2:51 – great vox + guitar, ambiance
09. 3:37 – relaxed vibe, high vox
10. 1:17 - interlude
11. 3:29 – sweet, smooth, tinkly ballad
12. 3:26 – mainstream r&b w/weak lyric
13. 1:02 – intriguing vocal/sample interlude
14. 3:33 – very pretty, but maybe over-the-top
15. 4:08 – with french rap & cool percussion
16. 3:31 – trad w/ passionate vox, big drums

[Fo] - 8/23/02

Recent airplay

Good Bye
At the Cafe BohemianJan 24, 2006
Mbiffe
Etre Heureux
one minute songsAug 24, 2003
Je N'ai Pas Choisi
pressandreleaseNov 06, 2002
Je N'ai Pas Choisi
Morning GloryOct 05, 2002
Mbiffe
At the Cafe BohemianOct 01, 2002

Charting

2002-09-30 — 2002-12-02 Reggae/World
Week EndingAirplays
Nov 10 1
Oct 6 2

Track listing

1. Tika Ngai
2. Ndagukunda Tshane
3. Etre Heureux
4. Le Bonheur
5. Mbiffe
6. Nkolo Akosunga
7. Good Bye
8. Kumbo
9. Na Mileli
10. Toyebi Te
11. Mboka
12. Come Back to Me
13. Mbana Mboye
14. Baselombo
15. Je N'ai Pas Choisi
16. Kumisaka Nkolo