“Rumba Rules: The Politics of Dance Music in Mobutu’s Zaire by Bob W. White should be a welcome addition to the library of any fan of Congolese music. This book has descriptive passages that give a delicious insight into the everyday workings of a modern Kinshasa orchestre. Furthermore there is some fascinating information and research that helps explain how Congolese music sits within the national culture and everyday social life of the Congolese people. The book can be justifiably described as an essential read for anyone wishing to gain an extended appreciation of the Congo, its politics and its quirky obsession with music.” - Martin Sinnock, The Beat “White's poignant research and heavily-referenced text showcases a rather complex and dynamic musical historiography and ethnography of Zaire's (now Congo's) musicians. . . . [A]n in-depth guide to the music and society of a people transformed and shaped by political policies and pressures. The text contains an extensive notes section, bibliography, small discography, and index. Scholars and students of African music with Congolese interests would benefit most from the text’s information. Yet, it is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in music.” - Matthew J. Forss, Callaloo “[A] pioneering study of its subject.” - Ted Smith, Montreal Review of Books “[A]n important source of information about one of the most celebrated genres of dance music in Africa. Highly recommended.” - Kazadi wa Mukuna, Choice “[F]ascinating, even enthralling.” - Robert Christgau, Barnes and Noble Review “Rumba Rules is a really exciting book, definitely worthy of the ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘sorely needed’ labels it is bound to attract. It is full of the basics and the nuances; deeply informative about a place, a scene, a local history, and lived realities; and deeply accountable to debates and discussions about how popular culture encodes a feeling of and for modernity.”—Steven Feld, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Music, University of New Mexico “Rumba Rules ties dance music to dictatorship, band leaders to politicians, in ways that are sensitive to the struggles of Congolese musicians and their fans in Kinshasa. Bob W. White neither diminishes the artistry and entertainment value of musical performances nor over-determines their role in political culture. This is a book that finely theorizes the relationship between aesthetics and political culture through vivid and often amusing storytelling.”—Louise Meintjes, author of Sound of Africa! Making Music Zulu in a South African Studio “What began with an extraordinary feat of immersion into Kinshasa’s music scene toward the end of Mobutu’s regime has been honed and crafted into a study of Congolese popular culture and politics that is bound to become a classic. A feat of ethnography and a much-needed ray of hope in these messy and tragic times.”—Johannes Fabian, author of Memory against Culture: Arguments and Reminders “What an enchanting ethnographic study! This book deserves to be widely read. . . . My comments on this book are based on my understanding of its significance in terms of the contribution it makes to debates within the field of cultural anthropology, in particular the anthropology of performance, the anthropological study of music, political anthropology and the anthropology of popular culture. . . . It was indeed a joy to read. Right now I am going to go out to buy a Congolese music CD to dance to!”
Rosita Henry
The Australian Journal of Anthropology
“Rumba Rules: The Politics of Dance Music in Mobutu’s Zaire by Bob W. White should be a welcome addition to the library of any fan of Congolese music. This book has descriptive passages that give a delicious insight into the everyday workings of a modern Kinshasa orchestre. Furthermore there is some fascinating information and research that helps explain how Congolese music sits within the national culture and everyday social life of the Congolese people. The book can be justifiably described as an essential read for anyone wishing to gain an extended appreciation of the Congo, its politics and its quirky obsession with music.”
Martin Sinnock
Beat
“[A] pioneering study of its subject.”
Ted Smith
Montreal Review of Books
“Fascinating, even enthralling.”
Robert Christgau
Barnes and Noble Review
“White's poignant research and heavily-referenced text showcases a rather complex and dynamic musical historiography and ethnography of Zaire's (now Congo's) musicians. . . . [A]n in-depth guide to the music and society of a people transformed and shaped by political policies and pressures. The text contains an extensive notes section, bibliography, small discography, and index. Scholars and students of African music with Congolese interests would benefit most from the text’s information. Yet, it is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in music.”
Matthew J. Forss
Callaloo