François Luambo Makiadi, better known simply as Franco, was one of the foremost architects of Central African popular music. He emerged in Kinshasa's fertile rumba scene in the '50s and quickly established himself as one of the finest guitarists in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). As the founder of OK Jazz, the country's leading dance band, he nurtured the early careers of dozens of singers and musicians who went on to establish groups of their own. Late in his career, he became one of the first prominent African musicians to call attention to the AIDS epidemic.