Bibi Den's Tshibayi

Bibi Den's Tshibayi was born in the Province of Kasaï Occidental, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as -- Zaire) on February 5, 1954. His mother, Bibi Ann, was a Protestant missionary who directed choirs and soon had young Tshibayi K. Denis Bibi Mobiayi as part of the choir. He loved his mother's voice and listened much from her. His father, Tshibayi, was a trader and planter who insisted on his son's continuing education, but also relentlessly urged him to sing and dance for his own pleasure and that of his honorable guests. He states, "(It is them that the demon of show business took possession of me)". 

While still in primary school, Bibi Den's started writing songs and melodies by age 11 while at the boarding school of the Brothers of Saint Joseph; the Fathers encouraged his talent by forming the small group "Savo-Fiesta" in which he performed during the 4 years at this school. By 1969, in secondary school in Kananga, he formed an expanded group "Lisano" with some friends in the neighborhood, doing matinee concerts and becoming popular among students. In 1972, in Kinshasa, although still in school, Bibi Den's began his professional career singing for "Thu Zahina", the group most in vogue (at the time) with Kinshasa. Franco gave the band instruments with which they could perform. 

Receiving his bachelor's degree in 1975, he continued to mix music with career advancement. His family, he says, "(revolted by my musical activities tries to find me an activity that they consider honorable)". He began work as a reporter for a local paper, but in the evening ran shows where he appears with the band "Melo Meli" of his friend Kanjinda Tony, a lot of his newspaper colleagues attend, "all astonished but having fun like hell." Four years later, fed up with paper work, he suddenly resigned his position to playing music full-time. Joining "The Best" he debuted at the Kinshasa Intercontinental Hotel, certainly a prime showcase. His family, exasperated and expressed, both sorrow and indignation; Bibi was touched by their obvious unhappiness, took up computer study and data processing, though without abandoning music. In 1981, he was hired to data processing at Air Zaïre, a job that is thrilling "but music is sublime." Combining both, his bosses came to the Intercontinental in the evenings to catch the show; perhaps he has really got the best of both worlds. 

Then, in 1982, The Intercontinental in Abidjan, Ivory Coast offered "The Best" and Bibi Den's a 6-month recording contract. Not hesitating a second, he left for Abidjan where, among other attractions, had a multi-track studio, and M. Sacko there helped him record his first album.

He recorded two albums in the first half of the 1980s, « The Best Ambiance » and « Sensible ». The song The Best Ambiance has been released as 12'' single by Earthworks/Rough Trade in the UK in 1984.

                                            Bibi Den's & Orchestre The Best - Best Ambiance (80's Soukous!)

Elisa Kouadio

Sensible

                                                                        Bonbon Rouge

Keba

J'aime Ca

Tu me fais craquer 

                                                                   

Bibi Den's then disappeared from the music scene to come back in the 1990s. With a new band, Les Marymbas, he recorded a few albums. He also was part of Soukous Stars for a short-while and wrote some songs for anticipated (at the time) female vocalist -- Pierrette Adams. Having lived for a long time in Abidjan, he has also worked with various Ivorian artists over the years (duet with Meiway on his album « Soft » and a duet with Alpha Blondy on Blondy's song « Zoukifiez-moi ça » (album Merci, 2002). 

In 2000, he recorded an album using his real name Denis Tshibayi in stead of his artist name Bibi Den's. The album is mixed by Adrian Sherwood (Sinnead O'Connor) and Skip McDonald and is a genuine attempt to fuse Congolese music with western pop music. 

Bibi Den's has lived in Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire for years before settling in Paris where he now lives. In 2007, a promo maxi-single « Feti » was released and in 2011, he released the album «Mua Chance».

For the LP link -- I have to rerecord it again and provide a updated link. Sorry about the inconvenience.