Editing Makossa

{{Short description|Cameroonian music genre}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Makossa
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Ethnogenesis: [[Assiko]]|essewe|bolobo|
Exogenesis: [[highlife]]|[[Congolese rumba]]|[[merengue music|merengue]]|[[Hymnody of continental Europe#Anabaptists|classical Baptist music]]|[[gospel music|gospel]]|[[funk]]y  [[disco]]}}
| cultural_origins  = 20th century, [[Douala]], [[Cameroon]]
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[Music of Cameroon]]|[[African popular music]]}}
}}

'''Makossa''' is a [[music genre]] originating in [[Douala]], [[Littoral Region (Cameroon)|Littoral Region, Cameroon]] in the late 20th century.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2">{{Cite web |last=RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2 |title=Music: The Emergence Of A New Sonic Language |url=https://radio-future-africa.org/music-the-emergence-of-a-new-sonic-language/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Radio Future Africa |date=13 January 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> Like much other [[music of Sub-Saharan Africa]], it uses strong [[Electric bass amplifier|electric bass]] rhythms and prominent [[brass instrument|brass]]. Makossa uses [[guitar]] [[accompaniment]]s, in the forms of [[Solo guitar|solo]] and [[rhythm guitar]], with a main singer ([[lead vocalist]]) and a [[choir]] of [[backup singers]], with the focus being on the [[Timbre|texture]] of the guitar, the role it plays in the [[song]], the relationship between it and other [[Musical instrument|instruments]] (including the [[Bass guitar|bass]], [[Drum kit|drum set]], [[Brass instrument|horns]], [[synthesizers]], etc.), the [[Lyrics|lyrical content]] and [[languages]] sung as well as their relationship (as far as timbre goes) with the music, the uses of various [[percussion instrument]]s, including the [[bottle]], the [[Groove (music)|groove]] of the bass as well as the drums, and the use of [[Music technology|technical knowledge]] and [[microprocessor]]s to make the music.<ref name="l'Harmattan">{{Cite book |last1=Noah |first1=Jean Maurice |title=Le makossa: une musique africaine moderne |last2=Owona Nguini |first2=Mathias Éric |date=2010 |publisher=l'Harmattan |isbn=978-2-296-54150-4 |series=Études africaines |location=Paris}}</ref> It is in common time (4/4) for the vast majority of cases. Language-wise, it is typically sung in [[French language|French]], [[Duala language|Duala]] or [[Cameroonian Pidgin English|Pidgin English]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-22 |title=Makossa Music Guide: A Brief History of Makossa Music |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/makossa-music |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=}}</ref> Tempo-wise, it is typically in between 130 and 170 [[Tempo|BPM]]. It traditionally consisted of [[Guitar picking|guitar-picking techniques]] that borrows from [[bikutsi]]; with a guitar-structure of a guitar switching from solo to rhythm from [[assiko]]; supplanted with complex bass grooves, and gradually picked up on brass section, from [[funk]] and later in the 70s, string section, from disco. It along with this acquired the [[sebene]] from Congolese rumba. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across [[Africa]] and to a lesser extent abroad. It is considered to be one of the greatest Cameroonian and even African "adventures" as a music.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

Makossa, which in some accounts is said to mean "the contortions" and others to mean "(I) dance" in the [[Douala language|Duala language]],<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://www.inst.at/trans/13Nr/echu13.htm
 |title = Multilingualism as a Resource: the Lexical Appropriation of Cameroon Indigenous Languages by English and French
 |author = George Echu
}} Section "Cultural-based terms" (last line)</ref> originated from a [[Duala people|Duala]] [[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]], François Missé Ngoh and especially [[Manu Dibango]], who popularised makossa throughout the world with his song "[[Soul Makossa]]" in 1972. It is the most [[Sampled (music)|sampled]] [[Africa]]n song, in history to date.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Durosomo |first=Damola |date=8 May 2020 |title=This video explores the countless songs that sample Manu Dibango's 'Soul Makossa' |url=https://www.okayafrica.com/songs-that-sample-soul-makossa-manu-dibango-african-music-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514010501/https://www.okayafrica.com/songs-that-sample-soul-makossa-manu-dibango-african-music-history/ |archive-date=14 May 2020 |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=Okay Africa}}</ref> The chant from the song, ''mamako, mamasa, maka makossa'', was later used by [[Michael Jackson]] in "[[Wanna Be Startin' Somethin']]" in 1983. In 2007, [[Rihanna]] similarly sampled it too for [[Don't Stop the Music (Rihanna song)|"Don't Stop The Music]]".<ref name=":0" /> 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)]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Courtney E. |author-link=Refinery29 |date=19 June 2019 |title=Shakira has the biggest World Cup song of them all. Here's how she did it. |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/06/235646/shakira-waka-waka-this-time-for-africa-world-cup-song-history-meaning |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=Refinery 29}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word "makossa" is originated from the Duala words "m'a" and "kossa". "Kossa" is a term that was a term at the edge of [[neologism]] expressed initially as a cry of exhortation, and as "a kind of swear word that has the status of a stimulus, a [[wiktionary:spur|spur]]. In the book ''Le Makossa: une musique africaine moderne'', a passage including this quote is written as follows:

:"En effet, le terme Makossa, [https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/d%C3%A9rive dérive] de « m'a kossa » qui veut dire littéralement en langue duala et au pluriel les [https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/contorsions contorsions] ; au singulier « di kossa » la contorsion. Ce vocable « Kossa » est un terme à la lisière du néologisme et du cri d'exhortation, mieux, une sorte de juron ayant statut de stimulus, d'aiguillon."<ref name="l'Harmattan"/>

In the same book, the author explains that according to Remy Minko Mba (late journalist):<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cameroon-Info.Net |url=https://www.cameroon-info.net/article/remy-minko-est-decede-75396.html |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=www.cameroon-info.net |language=fr}}</ref>

: "Kossa is a kind of exclamation, a cry of [[joy]] that is usually [[uttered]] to give more [[wiktionary:vigour#English|vigor]],  [and] more energy to the [[dance]]."

In the original French version, a passage including the translated version of this quote reads:

:"Remy MINKO MBA poursuit: « Kossa est une sorte d'exclamation, un cri de joie que l'on pousse généralement pour donner plus de vigeur, plus d'énergie à la danse. Il s'agit donc d'une sorte de stimulus qui doit nécessairement provoquer une réaction positive »."<ref name="l'Harmattan"/>

In Cameroonian Pidgin English, a [[cognate]] that could one of the ultimate underlying origins of the word "makossa" is: "kosh". One of the definitions of this word is the third one in this list, which is the context of the origin of the word makossa: "to insult, abuse, curse, swear at."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kouega |first=Jean-Paul |title=A dictionary of Cameroon Pidgin English usage: pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary |date=2008 |publisher=LINCOM Europa |isbn=978-3-89586-204-5 |series=LINCOM studies in Pidgin & Creole linguistics |location=München}}</ref>

== Origins ==
{{Tone|section|date=November 2024}}
Before "makossa" as a word existed, the genre of music itself emerged in the late 19th century.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2"/> It was based on the currents of musical influence in the city where it was born.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" />

The term makossa was founded by Nelle Eyoum.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> He did this when casually shouting out "kossa kossa" to children who would dance in reaction. This is akin to shouts of exhortation to children in daily life. This was to stimulate partners on the dance floor to redouble or increase in fervency in the dance, especially during the frenzied part of the composition, commonly called "[[wiktionary:secousse|secousse]]" or "balle à terre".<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

But even though Nelle Eyoum coined the term, they were others who played a significant role in the developing of the music.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> In the mid-1960s, [[Ekambi Brillant]] set the pattern for makossa through his popular recordings.<ref name="Rough Guides">{{Cite book |last1=Broughton |first1=Simon |title=World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Volume 1 |last2=Ellingham |first2=Mark |last3=Trillo |first3=Richard |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |isbn=9781858286358 |pages=440–441}}</ref> These include musicians such as Lobe Lobe Rameau, Mouelle Guillaume, Ebanda Manfred, Tibo Essombe, Epee Mbende Richard, Eitel Tobbo, Ebolo Emmanuel, Charles Lembe, Ruth Soppo, Jacqueline Ewondo, Tapelon, Epata, Eyoum Decca, Willy le Pape, etc.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

===Early development===
Makossa developed, expanded and evolved into one of the most popular and ubiquitous modern music genres in Cameroon.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" /> Its influence shaped and altered the musical discourse in the country for more than half a century, so much so that its reach expanded far beyond the nation's borders to other parts of West and Central Africa. It is the rhizomic evolutionary offshoot of the musical confluence arising from the colonial era and its revolutionary relationship between the West and [[sub-Saharan Africa]] in the 18th century.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" />

Along with this came variegated cultural ideas and expressions, intellectual concepts, religious values, as well as radical and disruptive new technologies from [[Europe]] that were at the presence of African societies.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" /> The outcome was a plethora of newer musical forms and modes of expression along the coast of [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa]]. Like the [[Kru people]] of [[Sierra Leone]] and [[Liberia]], business people, migrant workers, travelers, and musicians who were from the [[French Congo]] also brought along another stream of music with them to Douala.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" />

This junction between "old Africa and a new world of modernity" produced new auditory and visual frontiers.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" /> It allowed for a sensory experiential interface which culminated into a wide array of artistic and contemporary forms in West and Central African previously unheard before. It was out of this milieu that makossa would emerge, in one which was being revolutionized by new experimental and experiential realms which would revolutionize the entire continent.<ref name="RaDio2-FuTure1-AfriCa2" />

Makossa originated when Nelle Eyoum combined Douala [[ambasse bey]], Bassa [[assiko]], and Ghanaian and Nigerian [[highlife]] and shouted exclamations to stimulate dancing by children in the 1950s.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

=== Ethnogenesis ===

==== Assiko ====
[[Assiko]] is a music genre that is found in the [[Littoral Region (Cameroon)|Littoral]], [[Centre Region (Cameroon)|Centre]], [[South Region (Cameroon)|South]], and [[Northwest Region (Cameroon)|North-West Regions]] of [[Cameroon]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> Its many forms are due to the fact that at each region corresponds a particular form of assiko, that is to say a rhythm, a [[Harmony|harmonic]] and [[Melody|melodic]] course of action as well as a specific orchestration. It is thus that we distinguish a hard assiko, "muscular", rapid and lilting like [[Bassa people (Cameroon)|Bassa]] Assiko and [[Eton people|Eton]] Assiko; a cool assiko like [[Bulu people|Bulu]] Assiko; and the "Bottle dance" of the [[Northwest Region (Cameroon)|North-West Region]]. However, whether it is Bassa, Eton, Bulu, or from the North-West, assiko has a standard organology, namely the usage of the sound of the bottle as idiophone for percussion, to the point of bringing the violinist Jean-Luc Ponty to call it the "Bottle-bop".<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

The specific mode that is of interest is Bassa Assiko because of its influence on makossa.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> In effect, it is characterized by an accelerated rhythm, syncopated particularly rapid and jerky. The solo guitar is very predominant as well as the percussion. It is important to note that the [[Lead guitar|solo guitar]] plays diverse roles of [[accompaniment]] and of successive chorus sandwiched with singing. With attentive listening, makossa is a slowed-down assiko. Certain works of Nkotti Francois unveil with eloquence this influencce of assiko; for example the song, "Mintoa Mintutu". A conflict has by the way opposed the [[guitar]]-[[arranger]], [[author]]-[[composer]]-[[Music producer|producer]] Toto Guillaume and the assiko [[artist]] Jean Bikoko Aladin around the song "Dibena", which won the Disque D'Or in 1982. Jean Bikoko Aladin had accused Toto Guillaume of having plagiarized by slowing down the tempo, his song "Samedi Soir".<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

'''Essewe''' 

Essewe is a traditional Sawa dance which traditionally was practiced at [[Funeral|funerary]] gatherings as a dance that is rooted as a [[psychotherapeutic]] dance.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> The vocation was to "exorcise" the sorrow and pain of having lost a dear one. A way to "cure" through and via methods of [[dance]] and sung lyrics which were to morally "rearm" and [[psychologically]] balance the family in the funeral. This includes the partners, ascendants, descendants, collaterals, etc.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> 

'''Bolobo''' 

Bolobo is a genre that is similar to [[mangambeu]] as well as [[bikutsi]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> It is a dance of rejoicing and of the Duala people. It is practiced both in broad daylight and at night. It is a dance used as a test of initiation to sexual life as well as marital life. It has literature which has inspired makossa pioneers.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> 

'''Sociopolitical context''' 

The emergence of makossa is historically [[Contemporary history|contemporary]] to the [[Cameroon War|fight for independence]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> The emerging indigenous elite was crossed by the breath of an independence solidly leaned on the desire of cultural sovereignty. A manner of returning to the sources maintained by the current of the [[Négritude|negritude]], racial activism and black American politics. The departure of colonists passed as well by way of the [[decolonization]] of a [[cultural space]] and music dominated by the [[waltz]], [[Jerk (dance)|jerk]], [[Twist (dance)|twist]], and [[classical music]]. Moreover, the creation of places dedicated to relaxation such as the famous "palm wine bars" - where people consumed the following local alcohol: "bilibili", "kwata [[beer]]" [[Raffia palm#Raffia wine|raphia]] wine, and "arki" indigenous [[Whisky|whiskey]] - offered local musicians a frame of expression. Light formations (a guitarist, a percussionist, and voices), played traditional tunes. The availability of electricity and musical equipment, popular balls known as "bol", and the begins of urban prostitution are as many elements which constituted the [[embryogenesis]] of typical Cameroonian music in general and makossa music in particular.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> 

In total, makossa has a traditional [[Rhythm|rhythmic]] substrate which served as a ramp of launch for the construction of its identity.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

=== Exogenesis ===

==== Gospel and classical songs of Baptist churches ====
Many musicians did their classes in choirs of [[Baptists|Baptist]] [[Church (congregation)|churches]] before blossoming in profane music.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> One must highlight that the [[Duala people|Duala]] are by influence [[Protestantism|Protestant]]. [[Gospel music|Gospel]] and classical chants impacted the aspect of makossa concerning choirs, precisely the recourse to [[Singing voice|feminine voices]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

==== Highlife ====
[[Highlife]] is a [[West Africa|West African]] [[popular music]] whose origins lay in [[Sierra Leone]], then [[Ghana]] and finally in Nigeria in the 1920s.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> It is a fusion of Western sounds and traditional musics. Highlife touches a multitude of styles and diverse combinations of instruments that correspond to emergent [[Social class|social classes]] as well as local traditions. The term "highlife", is revealing of the new urban culture created by [[colonialism]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

In 1930, distinct varieties existed along the West African coast.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> Two major styles emerged: the dance [[orchestra]] with [[Brass instrument|brass instruments]] as well as other [[Western musical instruments|Western instruments]]; and groups more popular with dominant [[guitar]] and some musicians. It is this second style that influenced makossa as far as guitaristic texture and [[harmonic structure]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

==== Merengue ====
[[Merengue music|Merengue]] has its origins in the [[Dominican Republic]] in the 19th century.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> It originated with [[African instruments]]. notably [[Drum|drums]]. It later progressively incorporated Western instruments such as the [[accordion]] and more recently brass instruments. It marked almost all urban [[African music]] and [[Cameroonian music]] in particular; it was highly popular in the 1950s and 60s. According to Joseph OWONA NTSAMA:<blockquote>"Makossa of the Cameroonian coast in between 50 and 60 from the start, is musically and sociologically an ersatz of Merengue."</blockquote>The tempo of merengue has particularly influenced makossa.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

==== Congolese rumba ====
Original rumba was born in [[Cuba]] from the [[Atlantic slave trade|African slaves]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> It is a music of poor people in [[Urban area|urban]] environments, of workers without wives, nor families. It is a fusion of Spanish [[fandango]], [[biguine]], [[Merengue music|merengue]], [[Mambo (music)|mambo]], [[Cha-cha-chá (music)|chachacha]], and [[Calypso music|calypso]]. Ever since its first appearance in [[Cuba]], [[rumba]] accomplished its triangular path via [[United States|America]]-[[Europe]]-[[Africa]] to finally root itself in Africa, notably in the Congo where it mixed with [[highlife]] to support the fight for [[African independence movements|African independences]]. It changed quite a bit in the Congo.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> 

In effect, by [[sebene]], it becomes more fluid and [[Rhythm|rhythmic]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> It has left a considerable [[Melody|melodic]] imprint on makossa. Pioneers of makossa were lulled by the guitaristic [[Fingering (music)|fingering]] of the couturiers of rumba. Vicky LONGOMBA, Docteur NICO, FRANCO, VERKYS, Franklin BOUKAKA, the orchestras "African-Jazz", "OK Jazz", "les bantus de la capitale", "les grands maquisards", etc. were their paradigms. Certain guitar phrases were not more or less than retakes of rumba solos. Congolese music has more than all other exterior influences marked its imprint on makossa for it was the most diffused at that era thanks to the almighty "Radio Léopoldville".<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

Moreover, the trip to [[Douala]] between 1966 and 1967 of the orchestra "Cercul jazz" from Brazzaville, would prove for eight months in a productive stay that rumba could be sung in [[Duala people|Duala]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> This would contribute to its influence on makossa.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

==== The funky-disco movement: The Motown Sound ====
Tired of the "cool [[jazz]]" at that period, many [[African Americans|African-American]] musicians in the years from 1954-1960 advocated the return to the strength of a more "muscular" jazz coincided with the hatching of [[rock'n'roll]] of young [[whites]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> Directly inspired by [[bebop]], this hard jazz planted its roots at the sources of African rhythm.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

Moreover, this jazz searched [[Spirituality|spiritual]] inspiration within the [[Gospel music|gospel]] song and the religious music of African-Americans.<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> The [[funky]] which comes from this synthesis has received a frank success. This success would be amplified by its proximity with [[Soul music|soul]] and [[disco]] which are far ersatz. Certain icons would serve as a "school" in the basic formation of future stars of makossa: [[James Brown]], the [[Bee Gees|Bee-Gees]], [[Kool & the Gang|Kool and the Gang]], [[T-Connection|T. Connection]], [[Donna Summer]], [[Village People]], [[Gloria Gaynor]], [[ABBA]], [[the Temptations]], [[Shalamar]], [[Commodores|the Commodores]], [[Ike & Tina Turner|Ike and Tina Turner]], [[Percy Sledge]], [[Boney M.|Boney-M]], [[Smokey Robinson]], etc.<ref name="l'Harmattan" />

The [[funky]]-[[disco]] movement influenced makossa via the use of the [[Aerophone|aerophones]], or the [[Brass instrument|brass]] and [[Woodwind instrument|woodwind]] instruments; the [[Bass guitar|bass]] playing and to a certain extent the beat of the [[drum kit]].<ref name="l'Harmattan" /> The [[Bassist|bassists]] include: Joe TONGO, LONG Manfred, Jeannot Karl DIKOTO MANDENGUE, Vicky EDIMO, and ALADJI TOURE. The influence of the funky-disco movement besides its purely [[Technology|technical]] and [[Orchestra|orchestral]] aspect, also affected the [[onomastics]] of makossa musicians. In effect, many purely and simply adopted [[American names]]: Peter Moukoko, Bill Loko, Jimmy Sax, Peter Makossa, Jackson Berry, Vicky Edimo, Peter Mpouly, Tim and Foty, Jimmy Takoube, Black Styls, Joe Mboule, Joe Etonde, Peter Yamson, Georges Dickson, Mike Kounou, Blacks Styls, Negro Styls, Cracks, Chancellor, etc. <ref name="l'Harmattan" />
==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* West, Ben (2004). ''Cameroon: The Bradt Travel Guide''. Guilford, Connecticut: The Globe Pequot Press Inc.
* Noah, Jean-Maurice (2010). ''Le Makossa: une musique africaine moderne''. Paris, France: L'Harmattan

{{Genres of African popular music}}

[[Category:African popular music]]
[[Category:Cameroonian styles of music]]
[[Category:19th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Culture in Douala]]