Jean Kabasele Yampanya wa ba Mulanga (1951-1998), a native of Kinshasa also known as Pépé KALLE, was 2.10 meters tall and weighed 150 kilos, hence his nickname “the elephant of African music”. He started his career as a singer in gospel bands, then within the Bamboula group and the Bella Bella orchestra, which he then quit to found his own band, Empire Bakuba.
