{"id":10276,"date":"2025-10-03T09:38:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T07:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/?page_id=10276"},"modified":"2025-10-11T12:51:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T10:51:57","slug":"ruffin-nkoy-loola","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/en\/artists-a-z\/ruffin-nkoy-loola\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruffin Nkoy Loola"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"metaslider-id-10282\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-107-0 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-10282 ml-slider has-onhover-arrows has-dots-nav ms-theme-default\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Ruffin Nkoy Loola\" data-height=\"300\" data-width=\"300\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_10282\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_10282\">\n            <ul aria-live='off' class='slides'>\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-10286 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" data-date=\"2025-10-03 09:28:36\" data-filename=\"Ruffin-Nkoy-kl-300x300.jpg\" data-slide-type=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ruffin-Nkoy-kl-300x300.jpg\" height=\"300\" width=\"300\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-10282 slide-10286 msDefaultImage\" title=\"Ruffin-Nkoy-kl\" \/><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Singer, Composer, Cultur Manager from Congo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>High-Life, Soukouss, Rumba, Reggae, <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Salsa, Zonk, N-dombolo<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/intl-de\/artist\/1dLn9k8yvGUKYVaQ5wxKkH?_reload_cause=banner-auto-reload&amp;flow_ctx=97a9eeb8-a1df-4ee3-99f0-139d0dcc8421%3A1759791939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10375\" src=\"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/spotify-logo-ohne-Hintergrund-300x247.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"69\" height=\"57\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/spotify-logo-ohne-Hintergrund-300x247.png 300w, https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/spotify-logo-ohne-Hintergrund.png 551w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 69px) 100vw, 69px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLRat0CuzgpAD0z5TP7hyPpFh1KFP-UJOT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10371\" src=\"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/youtube-logo-300x100.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"99\" height=\"33\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/youtube-logo-300x100.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/youtube-logo-624x208.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/youtube-logo.jpg 675w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 99px) 100vw, 99px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Line-up: <strong>&#8220;L&#8217;Universal Grand-Lokito&#8221;<br \/>\nRuffin Nkoy Loola <\/strong>&#8211; Vocal<strong><br \/>\nDino Kolombo <\/strong>&#8211; Vocal <strong><br \/>\nAmuri Ntambwe <\/strong>&#8211; Guit<strong><br \/>\nIsrael Dude <\/strong>&#8211; Guit <strong><br \/>\nKakol Manzaka <\/strong>&#8211; Drums<strong><br \/>\nDV Kazai <\/strong>&#8211; Congas<strong><br \/>\nJose Ngoma <\/strong>&#8211; Bass<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The home of Ruffin Nkoy Loola is in Motang\u00e9, a district in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo). Kinshasa has been known for many decades for its vibrant diversity of musical styles and artists and is considered a major magnet for African musicians from various countries across the continent. Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango, for example, were inspired by Kinshasa&#8217;s music scene. The Matong\u00e9 district, in particular, is considered a musical hub for ideas and a space for networking between artists. Large bars packed with people characterize the district, and not only in the evenings. Soukous, the typically Congolese, rhythmically gentle entertainment and dance music, originated in this environment and has since enjoyed great popularity throughout Africa \u2013 including its faster variations, which are particularly popular in West Africa, and in modified form in the form of highlife in Ghana. Rumba, another musical trademark of the Congo, was also born in Kinshasa and, as a sensual, slow, and soul-stirring rhythm, has been woven into the diverse musical worlds of Africa, as well as South and Latin America.<\/p>\n<p>Ruffin Nkoy Loola stands in this musical tradition of Kinshasa, but has also been inspired by other African musicians such as Kalle Jeff, Franco, Tabu Ley, Miriam Makeba, and Manu Dibango. Emulating his idol Papa Wemba and making authentic Congolese music known beyond the borders of the Congo became the driving force behind his artistic work.<\/p>\n<p>At just ten years old, with his mother&#8217;s lullabies ringing in his ears and the local Congolese music stars as neighbors, Loola formed his first band. With the support of his first loyal fan, his own father. Apart from the beaters and the drum, which the children built from a large tin can covered with the rubber of a car tire, the instruments they used were not functional at all, but mere dummies. The boys created the specific sounds of the instruments with their voices, rather than guitar strings and piano parts \u2013 &#8220;like gospel,&#8221; the musician said. In the children&#8217;s band, Ruffin Nkoy Loola particularly stood out as a singer and composer, and musicians in the neighborhood took notice.<\/p>\n<p>In 1983, Loola founded his first band, <strong>&#8220;Sophistica de Matong\u00e9&#8221;<\/strong> with which he also toured Congo. The first recordings were made in Kinshasa between 1983 and 1985. Initially, these were vinyl singles, known in Congo as &#8220;45s.&#8221;<br \/>\nAt the age of 21, Loola moved to Gabon, and just a year later, with the support of <strong>Mavuela Somo and Sec Bidens<\/strong>, he produced his first LP.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1987, Ruffin Nkoy Loola has lived between Berlin, Paris and Kinshasa.<br \/>\nAt that time, he founded the band <strong>&#8220;Les Safaris&#8221;<\/strong> in Berlin, and since 1995 he has worked continuously with his band <strong>&#8220;L&#8217;Universal Grand-Lokito&#8221;<\/strong> consisting of seven musicians. In Paris, he recorded his <strong>first solo album &#8220;Ursula,<\/strong>&#8221; in 2000, fulfilling a personal dream \u2013 alongside Kester Emeneya, <strong>Papa Wemba<\/strong> collaborated with Ruffin Nkoy.<\/p>\n<p>As a DJ and promoter at the Berlin nightclub &#8220;Mandingo&#8221; he also organized African concerts and was involved in cultural exchange. In this sense, he sees Europe as a space for his artistic development, but the Congo remains the source of his musical inspiration. He considers himself an ambassador of &#8220;true Congolese music,&#8221; and the Congolese congas and the large tam-tam drum are essential components of his arrangements. The artist is also committed to further developing and enriching the country&#8217;s typical music through dialogue with Congolese people in Europe and the Congo. His latest <strong>CD, &#8220;Mystique&#8221;<\/strong>, therefore features several innovations. <strong>Souleymane Tour\u00e9<\/strong> from Ivory Coast plays the talking drum, unusual in Congolese music. The West African djembe can also be heard on the new CD\u2014another instrument uncommon in the Congo.<\/p>\n<p>Ruffin Nkoy Loola works on this CD with <strong>Papa Wemba &amp; Koffi Olomide<\/strong>, the Congolese soukous superstar, and the accompanying DVD features an Arab belly dancer alongside German and Congolese dancers. He sings primarily in Lingala, the most widely spoken of the five languages \u200b\u200bof Congo, but also in the language of the former colonial power, France.<\/p>\n<p>He sings of friendship, love, and the beauty of life\u2014typical themes of soukous music. However, with regard to the Congolese audience and the strict censors in his homeland, caution is advised in his choice of words. Erotic allusions are taboo. From the harshness of Congolese culture Ruffin talks less about everyday life and the repressive politics in his homeland. He also sees himself more as an entertainer than as a critic of his society.<\/p>\n<p>Ruffin Nkoy Loola never attended music school.<br \/>\nHe composes, writes lyrics, and arranges by ear\u2014and with considerable success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Singer, Composer, Cultur Manager from Congo High-Life, Soukouss, Rumba, Reggae, Salsa, Zonk, N-dombolo \u00a0 \u00a0 Line-up: &#8220;L&#8217;Universal Grand-Lokito&#8221; Ruffin Nkoy Loola &#8211; Vocal Dino Kolombo &#8211; Vocal Amuri Ntambwe &#8211; Guit Israel Dude &#8211; Guit Kakol Manzaka &#8211; Drums DV Kazai &#8211; Congas Jose Ngoma &#8211; Bass The home of Ruffin Nkoy Loola is in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":180,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10276","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ruffin Nkoy Loola - Ahoi Kultur<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahoi-kultur.de\/en\/artists-a-z\/ruffin-nkoy-loola\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ruffin Nkoy Loola - Ahoi Kultur\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Singer, Composer, Cultur Manager from Congo High-Life, Soukouss, Rumba, Reggae, Salsa, Zonk, N-dombolo \u00a0 \u00a0 Line-up: &#8220;L&#8217;Universal Grand-Lokito&#8221; 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