Watusi Theme < 2026 Release >

This is the story of how a Congolese dance craze, a compact car, and a marketing director with nothing to lose created a timeless artifact of kitsch. Before it was a vinyl stripe, “The Watusi” was a dance. In 1960, the continent of Africa was exploding into independence. The Belgian Congo became the Republic of the Congo, and Western media became briefly, obsessively fixated on the “exotic” imagery of the continent.

In New York, a dancer named Baby Laurence and a Latin bandleader named Ray Barretto capitalized on the frenzy. The “Watusi” (a Western corruption of the Tutsi people) was a solo dance—a side-to-side, arm-lifting, hip-swaying shuffle performed to a pounding, drum-heavy beat. It was the first major “African-inspired” dance craze of the decade, predating the Mashed Potato and the Twist. Watusi Theme

In late 1962, the "Dodge Dart Watusi" was born. If you saw a 1963 Dodge Dart Watusi on the street today, you wouldn’t see a monster. You’d see a pastel paradox. This is the story of how a Congolese

And that scarcity is why you are reading this post. The Belgian Congo became the Republic of the