“Jupiter” Bokondji grew up partly in east Berlin, where his father was an attache at the Congolese embassy, making soul music his first passion; the discovery of Congo’s rich heritage of rumba and soukous came later. The exuberance of 70s soul is in the mix on this arresting second album, along with edgy funk and the stuttering rhythms of modern Kinshasa. On high-energy pieces such as Ofakombolo, Jupiter declaims furiously, though he can also croon in the airy style of rumba stars like Tabu Ley Rochereau. The songs come with sharp parables about the corrupt state of Congo, or, like Le temps passé, with low-key charm. A winner.
