General Defao belongs to the younger guard of soukous artists from the Congo. He hails from the Bas (Lower) Congo province, as does Franco, incidentally. General Defao has a background with the Choc Stars band - an offshoot of Zaiko Langa Langa. In other words, it’s the music from the heart of modern soukous tradition. ZLL complemented the brass group in the traditional rumba orchestra with shouts, yells and whistle pipes; the band altered the tempos, giving the guitar a more central role.

In short, they rocked up the rumba and brought in something they called sebene: more funky but at the same time more folk-inspired parts of the songs. In the 1990s, the synthesizer/drum machine took on an important role in the overall picture.

General Defao is firmly placed in this tradition. The style can remind one of Koffi Olomide but lacks his refinement. Defao also takes his dose of sapeur via glittery clothes and gold streaked hair. He is very popular and tours a lot in Africa.