Emmanuel N'Djoke "Manu" Dibango was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone.
18 Facts About Manu Dibango
2.
Manu Dibango developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music.
3.
Manu Dibango's father was a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, while his mother was a Duala.
4.
Manu Dibango was best known for his 1972 single "Soul Makossa".
5.
Emmanuel "Manu" Dibango was born in Douala, Cameroon in 1933.
6.
Manu Dibango's father, Michel Manfred N'Djoke Dibango, was a civil servant.
7.
Manu Dibango had only a stepbrother from his father's previous marriage, who was four years older than him.
8.
In Cameroon, one's ethnicity is dictated by one's father, though Manu Dibango wrote in his autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee, that he had "never been able to identify completely with either of [his] parents".
9.
Manu Dibango enjoyed studying music there, and reportedly was a fast learner.
10.
In 1941, after being educated at his village school, Manu Dibango was accepted into a colonial school, near his home, where he learned French.
11.
Manu Dibango admired the teacher, whom he described as "an extraordinary draftsman and painter".
12.
In 1949, at age 15, Manu Dibango was sent to college in Saint-Calais, France.
13.
Manu Dibango was a member of the seminal Congolese rumba group African Jazz and collaborated with many other musicians, including Fania All Stars, Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Ade, Don Cherry, and Sly and Robbie.
14.
Manu Dibango achieved a considerable following in the UK with a disco hit called "Big Blow", originally released in 1976 and re-mixed as a 12-inch single in 1978 on Island Records.
15.
Manu Dibango served as the first chairman of the Cameroon Music Corporation, with a high profile in disputes about artists' royalties.
16.
Manu Dibango was appointed a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2004.
17.
When Manu Dibango found out he considered suing the megastar, but Jackson was quick to admit that he borrowed the line and the matter was settled out of court.
18.
On 24 March 2020, Manu Dibango died from COVID-19 in Melun near Paris.