Reddy Amisi

Rémy-Jules Namwisi Mela

May 5, 1960 ( 64yo )

Published 6 years ago
Updated 5 years ago

Reddy Amisi Quick Snapshot

Namwisi Ngoyi Amisi Melo Rémy-Jules also known as Reddy Amisi is a musician from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Reddy is also known as Bayilo Canto. He was born in Kinshasa, on May 5, 1960, just a month before DRC, then Belgium Congo got its independence from the Belgium Kingdom. Reddy was born from Benjamin Luyangusu , his father, and Albertine Nkesa. Some source mention September as Reddy’s birthday. Since the chances are very thin he could have been born on both days, we will check and update this page accordingly.

In 1982, Papa Wembas’s Viva La Musica suffered from a scission from Emeneya and a couple of other members who went to create Victoria Eleison. The vacuum it created forced Papa Wemba to recruit new talents. That’s when Koffi Olomide enters the story. Koffi was Viva La Musica’s songwriter at that time and knew Reddy’s talent. He introduced him to Papa Wemba who then hired Reddy. Reddy stayed at Viva from 1982 to approximately 2001. Prior to joining Viva La Musica, Reddy successively performed at bands Chem-Chem Yetu in 1974, Sambole in 1975 Juvénille, Likamwisi from 1978 to 1980, and Touche Pas bands.

Viva La Musica – Alma Matter

Shortly after joining Viva La Musica, Reddy became a valuable member of the band. He contributed with songs like Kotida in 1983 and Lize Paradis in 1985. Congolese music lovers received them very positively. Reddy toured Europe and the United States along with Papa Wemba, under the Viva La Musica and Molokai brands. In 1987, Papa Wemba permanently moved Viva La Musica to Paris, France. Its members, including Reddy had to resettle as well.

Around the year 1992, while still living in Europe, Reddy started building a team of musicians in Kinshasa that could help with various musical production in their home country. That was the birth of Nouvelle Ecriture accompanying band. Papa Wemba turned Nouvelle Ecriture into Viva La Musica Nouvelle Ecriture in 1996 after resettling in Kinshasa. Meanwhile, Reddy and the France team self-rebranded themselves. They became Viva La Musica – Cours Des Grands (Viva La Musica Big Boys Rules). This helped differentiate them from the other team. They also moved on with albums and productions using that band name. Around that period, reddy released a couple of solo albums. He was still technically part of the Viva La Musica, and benefitted from Papa Wemba’s support too.

Solo Career, Music Style and Legacy

In 2000, tensions between Reddy Amisi and Papa Wemba grew big. This was accentuated by the arrival of a challenging Nouvelle Ecriture band and the ambiguities it brought. The following year Reddy chose to graduate from Papa Wemba and Viva all together and built La Casa Do Canto, his own band. Of course, things did not happen in such a straightforward way, but we hope to have captured the essence of the story.

Reddy managed to find his own path and create his own music style even while in Viva. He is one of those Congolese musicians who went beyond simple womanizing lyrics. Reddy talked about working hard, keeping hope, and being wise and careful in life. More importantly, he did so in songs that become quite popular, with his recognizable voice music and a style of his own. Reddy inspired a lot of other Congolese musicians.

He now lives in Kinshasa, where he also has most of his musical productions. We will surely update you on what he is up to, and most importantly where you can enjoy him playing live.