In our ongoing introduction to Jonathan Joseph’s book Exercises in African American Funk: Mangambe, Bikutsi, and the Shuffle published by Modern Drummer we will include Jonathan’s explanation of a unique African groove, Mangambe. Today we introduce our first African element: Mangambe or Mangambeu, as it’s written in French. Mangambe is a popular musical style of the Bangante people of Cameroon. Here’s a simple version of the Mangambe rhythm.

May 2023 Issue