“Popular African jazz saxophonist Dibango ('Soul Makossa'; 'Electric Africa') details his life in the musical spotlight, beginning with his 1948 emigration from Cameroon to France, at age fifteen. Young Dibango picked up jazz and blues music quickly—learning piano as well as saxophone—but lost his traditional family's approval when word got back to Cameroon of his success as a working musician. Despite his eventual climb to international fame, familial and tribal conflict haunted Dibango. . . . That Dibango beat these formidable odds to make a career out of his music is a testament to his strong spirit, one which permeates this autobiography. . . . ‘In music there's no past and no future, just the present,’ Dibango notes, and that is how he has chosen to tell his life story.”

Publishers Weekly

“Dibango is a jazz saxophonist with an international reputation. His song ‘Soul Makossa’ is sometimes credited with being the first disco tune. Dibango was born in Cameroon in 1933. At the age of fifteen he left the country for a boarding school in France. His father gave him a small amount of money and three kilos of coffee to pay for his first school term. The boy grew up, established himself as a professional musician in Brussels and Paris, then spent many years trying to return to Africa. His memoir Three Kilos of Coffee . . . is largely the story of how hard going home can be.”

Words without Borders

“Three Kilos of Coffee is full of information and beautiful observations. Manu Dibango comes across as worthy of his reputation. He is straightforward, modest, honest, articulate, and generous. The book is a great read. It is also an important document about a leader of the Third World, about music, and about culture. I was excited while I read it.”

John M. Chernoff, author of "African Rhythm and African Sensibility,” “Hustling Is Not Stealing," and “Exchange Is Not Robbery”