Bebson de la Rue is a singer/rapper and the leader of Tryonix, an Afrofuturist project based in Kinshasa (DRC). As poet laureate of Kinshasa’s streets (hence his nickname “De La Rue” meaning “Of the streets”), Bebson is an influential figure in Ngbaka, one of the city’s most notorious ghettos, where he also teaches music and dance. He is also an inventor of music instruments and sound machines, some of which are used during Tryonix’s performances. Bebson and his brother Dicoco Boketshu, a bass player and video artist, formed Tryonix during the mid-1990s, as a collaborative project that blends Congolese rumba with rap and Jamaican raggamuffin with jazz sensibilities and electronica. Lyrically, Bebson taps into his vast knowledge of proverbs, Mongo chants and Kinshasa’s street slang. A sound they call Original Raggamuffin Folklore (ORF). In 1998, Tryonix released their critically acclaimed album entitled Mazapo, which lead to appearances at festivals across the DRC. They’ve since performed in Cameroon, Belgium and France.
Live at The Assembly (Wed Oct 1, 2008)
No comments yet.