 | | It's almost impossible to overstate the impact and importance of Fela Anikulapo (Ransome) Kuti (or just Fela as he's more commonly known) to the global musical village: producer, arranger, musician, political radical, outlaw. |
 | | King Sunny Ade is the undisputed king of juju music, the dance-inspiring hybrid of western pop and traditional African music with roots in the guitar tradition of Nigeria. |
 | | A superstar in his native Senegal, spiritual pop singer Baaba Maal was not even born to be a performer -- in West African culture, tradition dictates that the ancient griot caste must produce the singers and storytellers, and Maal was born in the city of Podor in 1953 into the fisherman's caste. |
 | | Some of the most exciting sounds to come out of Africa in the late '80s and 1990s were produced by Senegal-born vocalist Youssou N'Dour. |
 | | One of the most internationally successful West African musicians of the '90s, Ali Farka Touré was described as "the African John Lee Hooker" so many times that it probably began to grate on both Touré's and Hooker's nerves. |
 | | Afro-funk, reggae, samba, salsa, gospel, jazz, Zairean rhumba, zouk, and makossa are combined through the music of soulful Benin-born, Paris-based vocalist Angélique Kidjo. |
 | | Salif Keita gave up a lot to pursue his dreams of a career in music. Born to royal lineage, with ancestral roots going back to Soundjata Keita, the founder of the Malian Empire in 1240, Keita was disowned by his father after announcing his plans to play music. |
 | | A musical husband-and-wife duo that got its start in Mali, Amadou & Mariam met in 1975 at Mali's Bamako Institute for the Young Blind. |
 | | The West African country of Mali has produced some great musicians. But as they age, people have wondered who'll step forward from the next generation. |
 | | Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded by Joseph Shabalala in 1974. They've cut well over 30 albums since, but the group did not become well known outside of South Africa until Paul Simon asked them to perform on Graceland. |
 | | Following a three-decade-long exile, Miriam Makeba's return to South Africa was celebrated as though a queen was restoring her monarchy. |
 | | Babatunde Olatunji was a virtuoso drummer who became a sensation in the '60s with his albums of traditional Nigerian drumming and chanting. |
 | | In 1990, Wassoulou singer Sangare became a superstar in West Africa with Moussolou, which sold an astonishing 250,000 copies (many more were likely pirated). |
 | | New York-based Antibalas were formed in 1998 by musicians from King Changó, the Soul Providers, and the Daktaris. |
 | | Zap Mama is an all-female a cappella quintet founded by Zaire native Marie Daulne. Daulne's father was killed during the revolution of 1960 while her mother was pregnant with her, so the remainder of the family fled to the forests and found refuge with a tribe of pygmies. |
 | | Thomas Mapfumo made revolutionary changes in Zimbabwe's pop music scene by recording a song for which he'd written his own music. |
 | | Vieux Farka Touré, the second son of the late Ali Farka Touré, inherited his mantle, but his father never wanted him to be a musician and endure the same problems he had. |
 | | With his dynamic vocals and flamboyant personality, Papa Wemba (born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba) played an essential role in the evolution of Central African music. |
 | | A master of the kora (21-string West African harp), Toumani Diabaté has brought the traditional music of his native Mali to the attention of an international audience with a series of well-received solo albums and some unlikely, but acclaimed, collaborations. |
 | | Mbalax, the intricate dance music of Senegal, has been made more accessible to Western listeners by Cheikh Lô (born Cheikh N'Digel Lô). |
 | | Dibango is Cameroon's, and perhaps Africa's, best-known jazz saxophonist. Starting in the 1950s, he became a globe-trotting musician, living and performing in France, Belgium, Jamaica, Zaire, and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as in Cameroon. |
 | | Since 1993 Tarika have established a reputation for themselves on the world music circuit, and become successful enough to be called Madagascar's biggest musical export. |
 | | Hugh Masekela has an extensive jazz background and credentials, but has enjoyed major success as one of the earliest leaders in the world fusion mode. |
 | | The drummer and unofficial music director of the late Fela Kuti's band, Africa 70, from 1968 until 1979, Tony Allen (born Tony Oladipo Allen) helped create the sounds of Afro-beat. |
 | | Senegalese guitarist, harmonica player and singer Ismael Lo is a rising star of world music. With his smooth multi-textured voice and low-key folky style, he and his 12-piece band play strong, complex, percussion-laden mbalax songs that discuss important topics in Senegal ranging from racism and respect to immigration. |
 | | From inauspicious beginnings as the weekend house band at a Dakar club for government officials, Senegal's Orchestra Baobob, named for the club (which in turn took its name from the native baobob tree), went on to become one of the seminal bands of world music, with an influence that extended far beyond their national boundaries, throughout West Africa and into Europe. |
 | | Ba Cissoko is not only a master of the kora and one of the instrument's leading proponents, but a member of griot (master singers, kora players, and storytellers) legacy. |
 | | The brainchild of Teddy Osei, a Ghanaian sax player, composer, and drummer who came to London to study music, Osibisa was one of the first African bands to win worldwide popularity. |
 | | A member of the Malian familial tradition of the griot (or jeli, as they are known to the Manding of West Africa), kora virtuoso Mamadou Diabate is a link in the chain of oral historians that stretches back to the 13th century. |
 | | Tinariwen is a Tuareg group that performs a guitar-centric branch of Malian music that, to the untrained ear, is reminiscent of Ali Farka Toure's, but is far more rock-oriented and percussive. |
 | | Tabu Ley Rochereau (born Tabu Ley) is one of Africa's most influential vocalists and one of its most prolific songwriters. |
 | | Together with Sipho Mchunu, a Zulu musician who came to Johannesburg in search of work, Clegg formed South Africa's first multi-racial band, Juluka. |
 | | Vocalist, dancer, and percussionist Dobet Gnahore has been hailed Africa's leading star on the rise, compared to genre legends and cultural ambassadors like Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masakela by her mid-twenties. |
 | | Soukous, the dance music of Zaire, was updated by Paris-based vocalist and bandleader Konda Bongo Man. |
 | | Known as the "Queen of the Vocals" and dubbed the "Madonna of the Townships" by Time Magazine, Brenda Fassie was one of South Africa's most popular vocalists, mixing African vocals with a slick international pop sound. |
 | | Ali Hassan Kuban is a master singer and popularizer of Nubian music, a typically vocal expression native to the border region of Egypt and Sudan. |
 | | Since the 1960s, Ebenezer Obey has been one of the most popular, prolific, and influential musicians in Nigeria, releasing over fifty albums, developing juju style, and conducting an informal and highly creative campaign against his competitors in the musical world. |
 | | The Queens, often heard in concert and on record with deep-voiced "groaner" Simon Mahlathini, represent the South African township style with absolute perfection. |
 | | Kuenda Bonga (born: Barcelo de Carvallo) is one of Angola's most important post-independence vocalists. |
 | | Konono No. 1 combine the spirit of traditional African music with the junk instrument concept and the progressive electronic aspect of modern times. |
 | | Long one of Israel's most popular singers, Ofra Haza broke through to international recognition during the mid-'80s when her traditional music found favor on the U. |
 | | The traditional music of Western Africa and Ireland is fused into a seamless blend by Afro Celt Sound System. |
 | | African Rhythm Messengers is a group of musicians from around Africa that are based in Nigeria. Their music mixes such styles as Caribbean and reggae with African beats. |
 | | Koffi Olomide began his career as a guitarist, but then joined Papa Wemba's Viva la Musica as a backing vocalist. |
 | | Probably the most notable contemporary Malagasy group to achieve international exposure in the 1990s, Tarika Sammy update traditional and regional sounds of their country in invigorating ways. |
 | | Vieux Diop (pronounced "Via Jo") is a master of the kora, a 21-stringed instrument indigenous to West Africa. |
 | | The year 2000 saw Nahawa Doumbia establish herself as one of the leading singers of Wassoulou music, as the pentatonic sound of southern Mali is known. |
 | | |
 | | Most artists have to pay their dues, but very few have to be smuggled out of their birth countries to avoid death on the way. |
 | | Directed by ex-Sierra Maestra drummer Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, the Afro-Cuban All Stars have been essential to the growing worldwide popularity of Afro-Cuban music. |
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