Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Music
Music put West Africa on the map. Years ago, even if no one knew exactly where
Senegal was, they knew that Youssou N'Dour lived there, and the great Baaba Maal.
They could tell you that Salif Keita came from Mali, and Mory Kanté from Guinea.
That Nigeria was home to Fela Kuti and juju music emperor King Sunny Ade. Reg-
gae star Alpha Blondy defined Côte d'Ivoire. Saxophonist Manu Dibango was
Cameroon, just as Cesária Evora was Cape Verde and Angélique Kidjo, Benin. All of
these West African stars fuelled the global Afropop boom. Once filed under 'A' for
Africa, they lent the world-music genre much-needed individuality, commerciality
and cred.
The great bluesman Ali Farke Touré, who passed away in March 2006, was the mayor of his hometown,
Niafunké, a village on the Niger River in Timbuktu (Tombouctou) province. In 2012 Islamist militants took
over the town, imposing a strict social code that included the banning of all forms of music. 'I am happy
he is not alive to see this because it would break his heart,' says his guitarist son Vieux. 'It is probably
breaking his heart now, though, where he is.'
