Douala Music Scene: Makossa, Bikutsi & Cameroonian Sound
Douala gave the world makossa — the irresistible urban dance music that crossed oceans to influence soul, funk, and reggae — and its live music scene remains one of Africa's most electric
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Makossa Music Origin Story
Manu Dibango's 1972 hit 'Soul Makossa', sampled by Michael Jackson and Rihanna was born in Douala — the story of Cameroon's global musical impact begins in the city's clubs
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Live Makossa Club Night
Douala's weekend club scene features live bands playing classic and modern makossa — the bass-heavy dance music that gets even reluctant dancers moving
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Bikutsi Dance Bar
Bikutsi – the faster, more earthy music of the Beti people of Yaoundé – is popular in Douala's neighborhood bars: the xylophone-driven rhythm is infectious and hypnotic
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Congolese rumba nights
Douala's proximity to the Congo River basin means that Congolese rumba is as popular here as it is in Kinshasa — Douala musicians seamlessly blend rumba, makossa and Afrobeats
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Record store and music archive
The record shops around Akwa sell both new Cameroonian releases and vinyl classics from the 1970s-80s makossa — a music lover's treasure hunt in a central African town
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Cameroonian Hip-Hop Underground
Douala's younger generation produces Cameroonian hip-hop that mixes pidgin English, French and indigenous languages — underground venues hold weekly freestyle sessions and beats competitions