LAUSR

Since the end of apartheid, Johannesburg's city centre has become home to a large number of Congolese men who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo (RC) for socio-political or economic reasons. Although many may have arrived with hopes to integrate, xenophobia has made that goal near impossible. Rather than accept acts of marginalisation, however, many of these men have responded with boasts that Congolese culture is not only equal to that of South Africa—it is better. At the root of this argument is Congolese soukous music (specifically soukous appreciation songs) and fashion (specifically Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes, a Congolese fashion movement known by its acronym la SAPE), which, according to one young Brazzaville man, “show everyone in South Africa that the Congolese are number one” (Interview 2010). This article introduces soukous and la SAPE through notions of masculinity and display, which collectively enable these Congolese men in Johannesburg to reverse the hierarchies of inferiority imposed by xenophobia; and empowers them with opportunities for new imaginaries and practices of belonging. The research for this study was carried out in Johannesburg between 2010 and 2016.