Makossa

Makossa is the name for a dance music that is most popular in the urban areas of Cameroon.

Makossa is derived from a Duala dance which is called kossa, but has received significant influence from the older Ambasse Bey but also of jazz, Latin, highlife and rumba. Unlike the Soukous the Makossa includes a stronger, more funk - style bass rhythm, which is characterized by an upbeat, and has a dominant brass section. It is based significantly on the principle of call and response, with a female choir or the wind singer reply.

Although the development of the style began in the 1950s, but the first recordings were made until a decade later and published. Musicians like Eboa Lotin, Misse Ngoh and especially Manu Dibango made ​​this style of music known outside of Cameroon. Dibango's song " Soul Makossa " (1972) was a global hit and sold more than 2 million times.

Makassi is a lighter variant of Makossa. Sam Fan Thomas developed and popularized Makassi during the mid- 1980s. Especially popular is also Moni Bile. In Cameroon, there are several hundred such stars as Richard Bona or Petit Pays, which are connected to the Makossa and have further developed the style. Wolfgang Bender draws particular attention to the guitarist Toto Guillaume. The singing star Dina Bell also leans heavily on vocal Dibango. Tala André- Marie's composition " Hot Cookie" has James Brown influenced " Hustle Baby Do the Double Bump ".