Queen Lilas's new debut single video "Zala Ekenge" (Be Aware), released on her birthday, August 15, 2024, is now available.

Have you seen it? Unmissable, click below to watch the new video clip now.

Zala Ekenge is one of the first singles from the upcoming album titled "Tiya" which will be released in March 2025. Tiya means fire in the Kikongo language, which reveals the artist's deep attachment to her Congolese culture (Congo DRC) and her African identity.

From the video's intro, we see a Kongo Bayombe mask. A few days earlier, Queen Lilas explained to her followers on her Instagram account that "she is from the Muyombe people" and that she acquired the mask in Kongo. This says a lot about the artist's spirituality and ancestrality as Kongo (as opposed to Congo) is a much larger territory than its current artificial borders, as we know them. To speak of Kongo is to speak of a kingdom and empire of Central Africa, more than half a millennium old (1390-1914), which stretched from the north of present-day Angola, covering the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the south-west of Gabon. The Muyombe people, from whom Queen Lilas originates, also known as the Yombe, are settled in Mayombe, which is a forest region covering the ancient Kongo kingdom.

Then musicality follows the mask's close-up shot ..  we can see consecutively: maracas, guitar, drums and other traditional instruments and percussions, which celebrate the artist's eclecticism and musical universe. It must be said of this new album; Queen Lilas is the singer-songwriter, music composer and producer. This was also the case with her previous album "Ntoto". It was released on October 6, 2023 and reviewed by Songlines, the leading magazine covering traditional, contemporary, folk and fusion music from around the world. In their review of the March 2024 issue celebrating their 25th anniversary, Ntoto received an impactful 3 stars, saying of Queen Lilas "Her voice has a striking vibrato, she composes memorable melodies."

For more information on Queen Lilas, her journey into music from a tender age, singing alongside her uncle, the legendary Diblo Dibala and to pre-order her new album, go to her website below.

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