The Choc Stars are a soukous

Soukous

Soukous is a dance music genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa...

 band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

. The band was founded in 1983 by Ben Nyamabo, and has since published over 50 albums. The apex of their success was in the 1980s

1980s

File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...

, when guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist and vocalist Bozi Boziana

Bozi Boziana

Mbenzu Ngamboni Boskill, better known as Bozi Boziana, is congolese guitarist and singer. He has been in several major soukous bands, including Bamboula de Papa Noel, Minzoto Sangela, Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi Lokole, Yoka Lokole, Langa Langa Stars and Choc Stars, and founded his own band, Orchestre...

 wrote some of their most appreciated hits, such as Sandu Kotti, Alena, Mbuta-Mutu, and Retrouvailles a Paris. When Boziana left to create his own ensemble, three singers were hired to replace him (Carlito Lassa, Dieka Debaba e Defao Matumona). Many other talented congolese musicians have joined the Choc Stars over the years; some of them are Roxy Tshimpaka, Djuna Djanana, Monza Premier, Nzola Ndonga, Nzaya Nzayadio, Zemano Germain Kanza, Djo Mali, Carrol Makamba, Teddy Accompa, Wajery Lema, Ditutala Kuama and Djudjuchet. Most of these were coming from (or would later move to) other prominent soukous bands such as Zaiko Langa Langa

Zaiko Langa Langa

Zaiko Langa Langa are a seminal soukous band from DR Congo. The word "Zaiko" is a portmanteau for the lingala phrase Zaire ya bankoko, meaning "Zaire of our ancestors", where "Zaire" must be read as a reference to the river by that name, now called Congo...

, Langa Langa Stars

Langa Langa Stars

Langa Langa Star were a popular DR Congo soukous band in the 1980s. The band had the peculiarity of featuring as much as seven lead vocalists, nicknamed the "7 Patrons of Langa Langa Stars"....

, Orchestre Big Stars, OK Jazz

OK Jazz

TPOK Jazz, originally known as OK Jazz, was a rumba band in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from June 1956 until December 1993.-Location:...

, Zaïko Nkolo Mboka and others.

Despite a decline in popularity of Choc Stars in the 1990s

1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

, Nyamabo managed to keep the band together, and some of the albums recorded in this period, such as Dernier Metro and Bango Oyo Baye, received much critical praise.

Partial discography

• Les Merveilles du Passe - Choc Stars - Vol.3
• Munduki Elelo
• Bakuke
• Laisser Passer
• Dernier Metro
• Bango Oyo Baye
• Awa et Ben - 2nd shock