Soul Makossa

song by Dibango

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July 23, 2026

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"Soul Makossa" is a song by Cameroonian saxophonist, pianist, and composer Manu Dibango. Released in 1972, it is a fusion of jazz, makossa (a Cameroonian genre), and soul music. The song gained international popularity after being discovered by a New York City radio DJ in 1973. Its distinctive chant was famously paraphrased by Michael Jackson in his song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Dibango was a significant figure in introducing West African popular music to European and North American audiences through his innovative jazz fusions and collaborations.1

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African popular music
…the Top 40 with “Soul Makossa,” a pioneering disco hit that sold more than 100,000 copies in the United States despite negligible radio airplay. In Britain the pennywhistle tune “Tom Hark” was a Top Five hit in 1958 for the South African kivela (kwela) group Elias and His Zigzag…
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…the Top 40 with “Soul Makossa,” a pioneering disco hit that sold more than 100,000 copies in the United States despite negligible radio airplay. In Britain the pennywhistle tune “Tom Hark” was a Top Five hit in 1958 for the South African kivela (kwela) group Elias and His Zigzag…
Read More

Manu Dibango
That experiment was “Soul Makossa,” a mixture of jazz, makossa, and soul music that ultimately marked the turning point in his career. Although popular in Europe, both “Soul Makossa” and Dibango himself were virtually unknown in North America until the tune was discovered and broadcast in 1973 by…
Read More
That experiment was “Soul Makossa,” a mixture of jazz, makossa, and soul music that ultimately marked the turning point in his career. Although popular in Europe, both “Soul Makossa” and Dibango himself were virtually unknown in North America until the tune was discovered and broadcast in 1973 by…
Read More