Jean de Dieu Makiese popularly known as Madilu System, Le Grand Ninja or Bialu Madilu was a Congolese rumba singer and songwriter. Even though he passed away in August 2017 his songs like Ya Jean, Yaya, Si je savais Ca, Kupanda, Nzele, Juste un peu d'amour and Aminata (to name but a few) have continued to dominate the music airwaves across the continent. His contribution to the poetry of Congolese rumba music cannot be overstated.
Madilu System was good a comedian (arguably) as he was a singer. His songs are full of wit, humuor and conventional wisdom - traits of an accomplished composer. And if you are not put off by it, you'll also enjoy his swagger, bravado and unique sense of fashion. And what with his iconic extravagant laughter? You catch it up in songs like "Frere Edward", "Ya Jean", "Juste Pue d'mour" and the timeless classic "Leau".
All these are well documented. In this article, however, we sample some of Madilu System's quotes that we hope, you'll find to be just plain interesting. Let's go, shall we?
"Fidelite ya mwasi emonaka na misere kasi oyo ya mobali emonaka soki azwa mobengo." This translates to, "The faithfulness of a woman is seen when she is miserable but that of a man is seen when he is wealthy." or simply put, "The faithfulness of a woman to her partner is tested when she is miserable and that of a man is tested when he is wealthy." This quote is taken from the song Tenat du Titre. It is so full of meaning, when you hear it for the first time you just want to stop, lean back, roll your eyes back into your skull and ponder for a while, don't you?
"Eloko oyo kolinga (sometimes "bolingo") ezanga miso, moto oyo okolinga alinga yo te. Moto oyo okokima alanda yo mingi" This translates to "This thing (called) love doesn't have eyes, the person you love doesn't love you back but the one you are running away from chases you a lot". It can be argued though that this saying is not originally Madilu's. It first appeared in Simaro Masiya's song Ebale ya Zaire.
"Ngai moto nabangaka liwa te mpo nayebi mokolo ekoya ekokuta ngai na maboko na yo." (I'm one person who doesn't fear death because I know that the in day it will come, it will find me in your arms). Who else could think of saying such a thing? Well, none other than Madilu System. And what's worse, it is a love song, not a Christian hymn. Would you tell that to your lover, or would you rather tell it to the big guy in the sky? Think about it. Seriously. The quote is taken from the song RTC Riva.
"Kokabelaka nga te mosolo lakisa ngai mosala" This quote is found in Madilu's song Kupanda. It says "Do not give me money (instead) teach me how to work." Another witty one by Le Grand Ninja. We could spend a whole hour unpacking the wisdom in this one. The less we say, the better.
"Mayi ya moto suka nango be malili. Mayi oboyi kosukola suka okomela". This this taken from the song Juste peu d'amour (just a little love). Translating to "Hot water eventually cools down. The water you refuse to wash in, you ultimately drink" Madilu implies that situations constantly change and what we may reject at times of abundance we ultimately crave for in times of lack. But given that the theme of the song is romantic love, we can safely conclude that what Madilu meant to communicate is that the person you reject in your teens and early twenties can easily be your crush in your late thirties. It happens, doesn't it?
"Yeba nkoyi ebomaka mpona koleisa bana na ye, moto abomaka mpona plaisir eh". This quote, taken from the track "Faulte Ya Visa," translates to, "(You should) know that a lion kills to feed her children, (but) a person kills for pleasure." Madilu here possibly meant that while lions hunt purely as a necessity, humans do the same for pleasure because meat is not 'necessary' in the human diet. Alternatively he could have meant to say, and this seems more plausible, that unlike animals that kill each other in order to survive, humans kill each other for nothing other than for sport. You'll have to decide for yourself which of the two is the 'inner' message Madilu most likely wanted to pass to the audience.
"Pesa ngia pembe napeso yo moyindo, tosala zebra". This one really got me thinking. Madilu was clever here. He says, "Give me black, I give you white (and) we make a zebra". Clever! You see, black mixed with white produces gray, not black and white stripes.
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