Congolese hip-hop band MPR know their native country is potentially the richest on Earth. But their massive nation seems constantly stuck in first gear. War in the east and corruption in the west have become the chorus of MPR's music, and struck a chord.
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00:00 With its valuable natural resources, the Congo could be one of the world's richest nations.
00:05 Armed rebel conflict plagues the eastern DRC seemingly without end.
00:10 But even in peaceful regions, political instability, inflation and high youth
00:15 unemployment are just some of the factors holding the great heart of Africa back.
00:20 Factors its younger residents grapple with every day.
00:26 In our country, nothing works normally. We are motorcyclists. Before, a litre of fuel
00:32 was 1,600 francs or 2,000 francs. Then immediately it got higher to 3,000 francs.
00:38 We have power shortages. When you come from the university,
00:44 go into Cité Verte, that whole area in between has no electricity.
00:48 Waste is another big issue in Kinshasa.
00:55 It's enough to dampen any ordinary person's mood, but the hip-hop duo of MPR are not ordinary.
01:01 The Kinshasa-based MPR is actually a music duo of Zozo Machine and Yuma Dash.
01:07 Welcome to Kinshasa. Life here nowadays is somehow good and bad.
01:13 So our name MPR means popular music of revolution.
01:17 Their lively songs, inspired fast-moving rhythms,
01:21 sukkos and blistering guitar playing have garnered millions of clicks on YouTube and
01:26 social media since their burst onto the scene in 2016.
01:30 And no dance floor remains empty when Zozo and Yuma start playing.
01:34 In everything we observe, our real problems are tied to our leaders.
01:49 We as musicians do our best to raise awareness.
01:53 We realize that the power of our voices is what can awaken everyone and even reach our leaders.
01:59 Reaching leaders is normally not done through songs, but through elections.
02:07 Yet, listening to this young citizen, it seems little change is coming from that ballot box.
02:12 Elections in developed countries deliver solutions to their challenges.
02:17 But for us, an election is not a solution.
02:20 It's almost as if the politicians are profiting from our suffering.
02:24 You just vote someone and once elected, he plays against you.
02:26 So because of that, I won't vote because nothing will change.
02:29 This feeling of hopelessness is the subject of MPR's latest hit,
02:35 "Keba Ipoti" with Kashdem filming the music video.
02:38 Zozo and Yuma sing of pain and frustration,
02:42 of fat cat politicians who care more for their pockets than their people.
02:46 Their music stands to remind Congolese of their inherent worth
02:50 and that it is the politicians failing them.