Staff Benda Bilili, a band made of polio victims from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have reached worldwide success with their album Tres Tres Fort.
Staff Benda Belili, in the regional Congolese language Lingala, means “look beyond appearances.” And though the members of Staff Benda Bilili may not look like traditional musicians—many of them are polio victims and severely disabled—their talent makes it easy for audiences to look beyond their limitations. Though the group had only aspired to become “the best handicapped band in Africa,” they’re now gaining recognition as one of the most compelling bands in the entire world.
The group’s founders, Ricky Lickabu and Coco Ngambali met on the ferry across the Congo River bordering their native city, the impoverished Kinshasa. Both are lifelong musicians, but they didn’t set out to create a band consisting of only people with disabilities: it was simply that no other bands wanted to work with them.
“They said that I turned up late because I was in a wheelchair, and I couldn’t dance,” Lickabu told BBC News. “So I had to start a band with other handicapped musicians, and it worked out well.”
Lickabu and Ngambali were soon joined by two other polio-victim guitar players and singers, and a background rhythm section of former street kids. Roger Landu, one of the background musicians, didn’t have the money to buy an instrument, so he created his own from an empty tin can, a piece of wood, and a single guitar string. The band was also innovative in selecting their rehearsal space: they rehearse their songs in the Kinshasa Zoo, entertaining the leopards and monkeys that live there.
Once the band members knew they had a good thing going, they decided to start performing on the streets, hopeful that tourists might slip a few dollars in their guitar cases. They never expected to make a full living off their performances—Lickabu would spend all day selling cigarettes at a market stall before meeting up with his bandmates.
But Staff Benda Bilili’s fortunes began to change when Vincent Kenis, a Belgian record producer, heard the band’s captivating music. He helped them record their debut album, Tres Tres Fort—and, to keep their authentic sound, opted to record them not in a studio, but in the zoo, with birds chirping and monkeys hooting in the background.
Now, the one-of-a-kind band has reached a level of international acclaim that none of the members had ever dreamed of, performing at glitzy events like this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Thanks to their earnings from record sales and performances, the band members are rich by their country’s standards, and have purchased homes and paid for their children to attend the best schools in the country.
Before long, the entire world may be familiar with the story of Staff Benda Bilili: a pair of filmmakers, Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye, have been following the group for six years through their highs and lows, and revealed their documentary, Benda Bilili!, at Cannes to roaring applause. Today, the band seems to be poised on the brink of worldwide fame.
But the band members always knew that they had the talent to make it big, despite the countless obstacles in their way.
“Nobody believed in us,” Likabu says in a scene from the film. “Now they can see they were wrong.”
Check out some of the band’s amazing music in these clips.
Staff Benda Bilili from carl gierstorfer on Vimeo.