Breaking Rocks

Joe Trapido works in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies. A fan of Congolese music, he is also a follower of Congolese society and politics more generally. His work has been published in the New Left Review and in Africa.

• IntroductionChapter 1. Bars, Music, Gender and PoliticsChapter 2. Exchange, Music, PatronageChapter 3. Potlatch Migrants: Travelling to Europe, Arriving in KinshasaChapter 4. Rights, Piracy and ProducersChapter 5. The Président as Gatekeeper, Patronage as a Class Relationship. Elders and Cadets Rey Reproduced Now.Chapter 6. Mikiliste EconomiesChapter 7. Love and MoneyChapter 8. Charismatic FetishismConclusionBibliographyIndex

“Built upon a stunningly rich ethnography, Breaking Rocks elaborates on the political entanglement of the music industry spanning across the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Congolese diaspora. A witty, fresh account, including stories and case studies rooted in a thorough period of fieldwork, Breaking Rocks is simply a must-read for anyone either professionally or amateurishly inclined to anthropology or musicology.” Kristien Geenen, Ghent University