An African music fan asked on our Facebook page about the Youtube video named Kizomba performance @ the 2009 Sexy & Sensual Latin dance festival. Turns out the music in the video is not Kizomba, but Semba. The song is by Carlos Lambartine, one of the masters of Semba music. The query was made by Fabian Dre and the information was provided by Sergio Baptista.

Semba is a typical Angolan genre rooted in traditional carnival rhythms, such as kilapanga, rebita, kazukuta and kabetula. In semba, much of the rhythm is not carried by drums, but instead by guitars, allowing the music to develop more complex chords, some of them borrowed from the Portuguese’s rich melodic heritage.

According to Sergio, Kizomba is a new Afro style and semba is an old one. Angolan music has the kizomba, Semba,Tarraxinha genres. The semba is much faster than the kizomba. :)

Carlos Lamartine was one of the leading voices in the struggle against the Portuguese in the 1960's and 1970s through his music. He was part of the MPLA (Angolan liberation movement) political party, which came to power with Agostinho Neto, and is still ruling Angola today. Some of his songs are Jesus Diála Ua Kidi, Bassoka, Ene Adiá Ioso, Guía para a Libertação de África, etc.

Watch the video