Ray Lema

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Congolese musician (born 1946)

title: "Ray Lema" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1946-births", "living-people", "democratic-republic-of-the-congo-emigrants-to-france", "democratic-republic-of-the-congo-musicians", "french-musicians", "naturalized-citizens-of-france", "people-from-kongo-central"] description: "Congolese musician (born 1946)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Lema" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Congolese musician (born 1946) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]

FieldValue
nameRay Lema
imageRay Lema à la Cinémathèque française.jpg
captionLema at the Cinémathèque française on 18 February 2008
backgroundnon_vocal_instrumentalist
birth_nameRaymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga
birth_date
birth_placeCattier, Belgian Congo
(modern-day Lufu-Toto, DR Congo)
genreWorld music
occupationMusician, songwriter
instrumentPiano, guitar
labelIsland Records
website
::

| name = Ray Lema | image = Ray Lema à la Cinémathèque française.jpg | image_size = | caption = Lema at the Cinémathèque française on 18 February 2008 | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Raymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga | birth_date = | birth_place = Cattier, Belgian Congo (modern-day Lufu-Toto, DR Congo) | origin = | genre = World music | occupation = Musician, songwriter | instrument = Piano, guitar | years_active = | label = Island Records | website =

Raymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga (born 30 March 1946), known as Ray Lema, is a Congolese (DRC) musician. A pianist, guitarist, and songwriter, he settled in France in 1982.

Biography

Lema was born in Lufu-Toto, Bas-Congo Province. As a child he wanted to be a Catholic priest and in 1957 at the age of 11 entered seminary with the White Fathers, where his talent for music was recognized. He began learning the organ and piano, within a European classical canon that included Gregorian chants, Mozart and Chopin;

Lema left the seminary in 1962 and subsequently attended the University of Kinshasa, where he studied chemistry. He became interested in popular music from outside Africa and after learning to play guitar he began his involvement with the Kinshasa music scene. He became a performer in clubs and was a fan of musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.

In the early 1970s Lema went round the country recording as an ethnomusicologist. In 1974 he became music director for two years of the National Ballet of Zaire. Over the years he has played with the bands of Tabu Ley Rochereau, Joseph Kabasele and Franco, and in 1978 his own band, Ya Tupas, won the French Maracas d'Or award.

In 1979 he was invited by the Rockefeller Foundation to the United States, where he recorded his first album, Koteja (1982). He then moved to Europe, settling in 1982 in France. His album Kinshasa-Washington DC-Paris was released in 1983.

Lema has become a major figure in world music, performing at numerous music festivals, and has also worked as a film composer. He has also been involved with various international collaborations. Guests on Lema's 1989 album Nangadeef include Courtney Pine and the Mahotella Queens. In 1992 he spent time in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, writing the opera Un Touareg s’est marié avec une pygmée with Cameroonian Werewere Liking, and also that year worked with German pianist Joachim Kuhn to record Euro African Suites. In 1997, Lema recorded the album Bulgarian Voices with the choir of the Pirin Folk Ensemble, and composed The Dream of the Gazelle for a Swedish chamber orchestra. In 2000 he worked with Moroccan band Tyour Gnaoua and brought out the CD Saf.

In 2002, Lema appeared on a track titled "No Agreement" on the Red Hot Organization's tribute album to Fela Kuti, Red Hot and Riot alongside Res, Tony Allen, Baaba Maal, Positive Black Soul and Archie Shepp.

He was awarded the "Django d'Or" in October 2003,

Selected discography

  • 1983: Kinshasa, Washington D.C. Paris
  • 1985: Medecine
  • 1989: Nangadeef
  • 1990: Gaia
  • 1995: Tout Partout
  • 1996: Green Light
  • 1997: Stoptime
  • 1998: The Dream Of The Gazelle
  • 2004: Mizila
  • 2012: V.S.N.P.
  • 2016: Headbug
  • 2016: Riddles: duet with Laurent de Wilde
  • 2021: Riddles: duet with Laurent de Wilde

References

References

  1. [http://raylema.com/en/biography/ "Biography"], Ray Lema website.
  2. his concert debut was [[Beethoven]]'s ''[[Moonlight Sonata]]''.[http://www.africanmusiciansprofiles.com/RayLema.htm "Ray Lema"], African Musicians Profiles.
  3. (August 2025)
  4. Killakam, [http://www.okayafrica.com/audio/africa-in-your-earbuds/african-hip-hop-mixtape-dj-gioumanne/ "Africa In Your Earbuds #54: DJ Gioumanne"], ''OkayAfrica'', 8 November 2014.
  5. "World Music Central.org".
  6. "Ray Lema". IMDb.
  7. Gildas Lefeuvre, [http://www.reseauglconnection.com/article-grands-prix-de-l-academie-charles-cros-palmares-2013-121345684.html "Grand Prix of the Charles Cros Academy: 2013 winners"], ''GL Connection'', 29 November 2013.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1946-birthsliving-peopledemocratic-republic-of-the-congo-emigrants-to-francedemocratic-republic-of-the-congo-musiciansfrench-musiciansnaturalized-citizens-of-francepeople-from-kongo-central