My meeting with Koffi Olomide was not the most successful story to tell, but it is so funny that I thought of doing it. It was Teshome from Selam in Stockholm who contacted me, he wanted to invite Koffi Olomide to Stockholm for a concert because I was probably the only one in Sweden to have his telefon number at the time thanks to Nadim, a French producer in Paris where I usually buy my African records from his company Sonima. Koffi Olomide is from Congo and considered as the greatest rumba artist after Franco and Rochereau. A real Guru. I flew to Paris and called the next morning him as planned to decide where we should meet. Porte de Clignancourt metro station was the place he given me and the meeting was fixed at 11:00 am. I was there on time, but noticed 10 minutes before the meeting that I was at the wrong station. There were four exits at Porte de Clignancourt station and I didn't know it. I ran like a madman during 30 minutes from station to station and each time I´come out at the wrong station. Koffi was waiting, getting impatient, irritate and was ready to return home. It was 11:20 a.m.
Finally I found the right exit, got out and saw him from afar standing next to his luxury car parked at the bus stop. We immediately went to the cafe around the corner and struck up a chat. I picked up the phone and called Teshoma to speak to him directly. Surprised and unprepared for the conversation, Teshome asked me to settle the deal myself. Koffi wanted 100,000 and asked me to send half the money in the following days. When I asked about the contract, his manager and all the normal contact details I´need to prepare the contract. He answerred no worries. I'm the manager, the boss, I don't have a mejladress, or other contact details than my phone number. Just send me the money. I found this situation weird and not normal. The meeting lasted 5 minutes. We ended the meeting with question marks. When he then got up to leave, I asked him for a photo together which he refused. I bought the camera just a few hours earlier especially for the occasion. I´paid the coffee. Out on the street he created chaos by parking at the bus stop. There was no follow up after this appointment. I`instead booked Papa Wemba to Gothenburg and Oslo. The second time Pa Wemba was to come to Oslo, he never showed up even though he had pocketed half the gage. So let's say instead that I'm lucky with Koffis history.
