Staff Benda Bilili
Staff Benda Bilili is an orchestra from Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, made up mainly of disabled people.
Afflicted with polio in their youth, the band members use wheelchairs, sleep on the streets and live by begging, surrounded by shegués (vagrant street children). Their music incorporates elements of Congolese rumba, Cuban music, rhythm and blues, reggae and even funk. Staff Benda Bilili, whose name means “Don’t be fooled by appearances”, demonstrate an unfailing joie de vivre and determination in the face of hardship, an absolute confidence in their future, but also an immense humanism for their disabled brothers and sisters, whom they place at the top of their objectives.
In 2005, on the occasion of the first democratic elections since 1960, Staff Benda Bilili created a song entitled Allons voter. The MONUC (United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) decided to record it to encourage the population to go to the polls. Widely broadcast, notably on MONUC-run Radio Okapi, the song was so successful that some credited it with the high turnout (70% of registered voters).
Videos showing the band playing in the streets of Kinshasa were a big hit on the net.
