Zap Mama is a group led by
Zaire born
Marie Daulne. Actually, some would say that Marie, the only consistent member of the group
is Zap Mama, in much the same way (though with more accuracy) as they say that
David Byrne was the
Talking Heads. The
coincidence there is that it was on David Byrne's label,
Luaka Bop, that Zap Mama made their breakthrough. They still are on Luaka Bop.
Their music, which is a cappella in the beginning of their career, hails from Belgium, the Congo, and the Amazon. Marie is said to have been raised in a Pygmy village, and studied Pygmy vocal techniques. In later albums, the music begins to take on characteristics of hip-hop, jazz, r n' b, some drum n' bass, and other more "urban" sounds.
Marie Daulne currently lives in New York City, where she is surrounding herself with the urban New York lifestyle (according to a CDNow interview).
The albums: