Entertainment and Arts

Makossa is 70 years old this year 2022, this is how the most successful Cameroon music genre started.

Makossa means “I Dance” in Douala. The Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass.

In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a lesser extent abroad. The genre originated from a Douala dance called the kossa. Emmanuel Nelle Eyoum started using the refrain kossa kossa in his songs with his group “Los Calvinos”.

The style began to take shape in the 1950s though the first recordings were not seen until a decade later. There were artists such as Eboa Lotin, Misse Ngoh and especially Manu Dibango, who popularised makossa throughout the world with his song “Soul Makossa” in 1972.

The chant from the song, mamako, mamasa, maka makossa, was later used by Michael Jackson in “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” in 1983. Many other performers followed suit. The 2010 World cup also brought makossa to the international stage as Shakira sampled the Golden Sounds popular song “Zamina mina (Zangalewa)”.

SOURCE: Wikipedia.org

It’s 70th anniversary will be celebrated this December 19th at the Festival Makossa ( Festmak ).