Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In West Africa, big-name artists attract hordes of followers wherever they go. The
politicians who try to hijack such popularity are usually shrugged off. Mory Kanté and
Baaba Maal are respectively United Nations and Oxfam Goodwill Ambassadors, using
their stardom to campaign against poverty, disease and illiteracy. The great Youssou
N'Dour - once described by Rolling Stone as 'perhaps the most famous singer alive' in
much of Africa - has been Senegal's Minister of Tourism and Culture since April 2012.
Based in Conakry, Radio Kankan ( www.radio-kankan.com ) is a French-language station devoted to news
and music from the region.
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a band formed by a group of refugees displaced to
Guinea by the Sierra Leone Civil War, and who tour extensively to raise awareness of hu-
manitarian causes. Fatoumata Diawara and Oumou Sangaré sing, however obliquely,
about women's rights. The rap movement in Senegal promotes peace and love. But free-
dom of expression is still curtailed; both Sean and Femi Kuti's pro-democracy narratives
are censored in Nigeria, just as their father's were.
Guitar-based highlife is still a staple of Ghana, where hip-life - the country's very own
hip-hop - is also huge. Nigerian music isn't as popular in the West as it was; Mali and
Senegal are ahead in the popularity stakes, but the demand for the back catalogue of the
late great Nigerian Fela Anikulapo Kuti continues apace. After revisiting their roots with
traditional acoustic albums both Salif Keita and Baaba Maal have gone on to re-embrace
electronica; Keita's 2013 album Talé is produced by Phillipe Cohen Solal of Paris-based
experimentalist Gotan Project.
Everywhere, musicians are creating, collaborating, experimenting. New, exciting per-
formers are constantly emerging. Traditional styles are proudly upheld and passed down.
West Africa's musical heritage is rich and ever present. It's in the DNA of its people.
 
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