With a multi-octave vocal range and a dynamic stage presence, the 210 cm (6 ft 11 in) and 150 kg (330 lb) vocalist recorded more than three hundred songs and twenty albums[3] during his two-decade-long career.

Empire Bakuba took its name from a Congolese warrior ethnic group, and it pointedly incorporated rootsy rhythms from the interior, sounds that had long been sidelined by popular rumba.

With hits such as Pépé Kallé's Dadou and Papy Tex's Sango ya mawa, the band was a constant fixture on the charts.

Pépé Kallé later introduced some dancers with growth disabilities like Jolie Bebe, Dominic Mabwa and Ayilla Emoro in to his band.

Despite this setback, Pépé Kallé's popularity continued to soar in the nineties as he released albums like Gigantafrique, Larger than life and Cocktail.

On November 28, 1998, Pépé Kallé suffered a heart attack at his home in Kinshasa and was rushed to the nearby Clinique Ngaliema.

After his death, minister for culture and arts Juliana Lumumba announced that the government would hold a funeral for the fallen hero on December 6.

"Despite bleak conditions in Zaïre/Congo during Mobutu's last years and under the faltering regime of Laurent Kabila, Pépé Kallé continued to reside in Kinshasa, refusing to join the mass movement of music stars to Europe.

[11] Veteran Congolese journalist Achille Ngoie, who covered Empire Bakuba from its inception, remembered Kallé as a man of the people.