Rei da Costa, the co-founder of a popular Angolan music group Sassa Tchokwe Internacional, has died at the age of 66, the Angolan news agency (ANGOP) reports.
ANGOP says Rei da Costa died of diabetes-related complications on Sunday at a hospital in Saurimo, in the northeastern Angolan province of Lunda Sul.
A family source told the news agency that Rei da Costa was first diagnosed with diabetes in 1992.
Sassa Tchokwe Internacional was founded in 1984. Rei da Costa, whose real name is Ilunga Mabanza da Costa, was among the founding members.
Solo career
In 1999, da Costa separated from the band, and embarked on a solo music career, recording several albums including "Chance Jami" in 2020 and "Khosso Lia Buaza" in 2021.
Some of the songs that he produced while part of the Sassa Tchokwe Internacional include "Lunda A Sokoloke", "Garimpeiro", "Soni Mandvunbu", "Txisela", "Sinergia", "Muno Ukalu Kuyuka", "Celestino Kahona", "David Txifumani", "Kufua Txa Muat Yav" and "Palancas Negras".
During his childhood, da Costa's family fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he took interest in music at the age of nine.
It was during his stay in the DRC that he learned how to sing and play instruments. Da Costa was born in Cuilo, in the northeastern province of Lunda Norte, on December 2, 1956.
