Salif Keita's Influence On Mandinka Culture
Afro-Pop
In the country of Mali in Western Africa, the music is very similar to the other African nations. It is ethnically diverse, however there is one influence that stems from the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka. The Mande people make up about half of the country's population, and they have brought Mande-based Afro-pop into the world, and adopted traditional garb and styles as well. One singer I would like to focus primarily on is Salif Keita, he was born in Mali during 1949, and has a reputation as the “Golden Voice of Africa”.
When he was young, he was abandoned by his family and excluded from the community because of his albinism. In Mandinka culture, albinism is considered to be bad luck. He wanted to become a teacher, but decided to turn to music when he saw that being a teacher would be an unfit job for him, due to his lack of sight caused by his albinism. His family disagreed with his choice to become a musician because it was considered to …show more content…
be hereditary to be a musician.
When he was 18 he left his hometown behind to live on the streets of the capital. A man named Tidiane Koné, a saxophonist spotted Keita’s powerful voice in a market he had been singing in and invited Keita to join a government sponsored Super Rail Band de Bamako in Bamako. This rail band was built upon the mid 20th century craze for latin jazz music that came out of the Congo in the 1940s.The Band was one of the first West African acts to combine mature Afro-Latin sound with traditional instruments and styles. The band sold out venues and stadia all across Western Africa, and helped launch Keita’s career as a singer. After he got his start with the Rail Band, Keita moved and joined the group known as Les Ambassadeurs in the year 1973. He fled political unrest in mali, with the new band in the mid-1970s, to go to the Ivory Coast. While a
part of Les Ambassadeurs, Keita met a man named Kante Manfila, who was the lead singer and guitarist of Les Ambassadeurs.The band rose to the international level in the later years of the 1970s, and Keita received his first award in 1977. Keita and Manfila moved to the Americas for about three months so the duo could produce two albums. Later in the 1980s Keita moved to France in an effort to reach a larger audience. In his music, he combines contemporary music from Europe and the Americas, with the traditional West African styles he grew with. Some of the instruments that he commonly uses in his music consist of djembe, guitar, balafons, saxophone, and many more. In an effort to call for the freedom of Nelson Mandela, Keita performed at Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute concert. He also helped another artist know as Cole Porter compose the song “Begin the Beguine”. This song was part of a tribute album that was produced by the Red Hot Organization. Keita found success in France as an African star of world music, however he did return to Bamako in the year 2002. His plan was to live and record from home. Since his return home Keita has produced various albums from the studio he built. Some albums are, Moffou, M’Bemba, La Différence, and some others as well. La Différence was dedicated to the struggle of the albino community across the world. In one track on the album he calls on others to understand that different doesn’t necessarily mean bad, and compassion and love should be shared will all people. Keita is a revolutionary singer due to his unique circumstances involving his skin pigment disorder. He never let that disorder lessen what he wanted to accomplish, or how he wanted to impact the world.
Denselow, Robin (5 April 2002). "The African King". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
"Keita." RFI Musique. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2017. Lindiwe Dovey African Film and Literature: Adapting Violence to the Screen 2009 - Page 268
New and Old Music from Rail Band guitarist Djelimady Tounkara. Cora Connection (2002).
Salif Keita Discography Compiled by Graeme Counsel , Radio Africa, retrieved 2009-04-20
The Unsinkable Mali Sound; Super Rail Band, Traore Ride a West African Groove. Fernando Gonzalez. The Washington Post - Washington, D.C. July 11, 2001.
In the country of Mali in Western Africa, the music is very similar to the other African nations. It is ethnically diverse, however there is one influence that stems from the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka. The Mande people make up about half of the country's population, and they have brought Mande-based Afro-pop into the world, and adopted traditional garb and styles as well. One singer I would like to focus primarily on is Salif Keita, he was born in Mali during 1949, and has a reputation as the “Golden Voice of Africa”.
When he was young, he was abandoned by his family and excluded from the community because of his albinism. In Mandinka culture, albinism is considered to be bad luck. He wanted to become a teacher, but decided to turn to music when he saw that being a teacher would be an unfit job for him, due to his lack of sight caused by his albinism. His family disagreed with his choice to become a musician because it was considered to …show more content…
be hereditary to be a musician.
When he was 18 he left his hometown behind to live on the streets of the capital. A man named Tidiane Koné, a saxophonist spotted Keita’s powerful voice in a market he had been singing in and invited Keita to join a government sponsored Super Rail Band de Bamako in Bamako. This rail band was built upon the mid 20th century craze for latin jazz music that came out of the Congo in the 1940s.The Band was one of the first West African acts to combine mature Afro-Latin sound with traditional instruments and styles. The band sold out venues and stadia all across Western Africa, and helped launch Keita’s career as a singer. After he got his start with the Rail Band, Keita moved and joined the group known as Les Ambassadeurs in the year 1973. He fled political unrest in mali, with the new band in the mid-1970s, to go to the Ivory Coast. While a
part of Les Ambassadeurs, Keita met a man named Kante Manfila, who was the lead singer and guitarist of Les Ambassadeurs.The band rose to the international level in the later years of the 1970s, and Keita received his first award in 1977. Keita and Manfila moved to the Americas for about three months so the duo could produce two albums. Later in the 1980s Keita moved to France in an effort to reach a larger audience. In his music, he combines contemporary music from Europe and the Americas, with the traditional West African styles he grew with. Some of the instruments that he commonly uses in his music consist of djembe, guitar, balafons, saxophone, and many more. In an effort to call for the freedom of Nelson Mandela, Keita performed at Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute concert. He also helped another artist know as Cole Porter compose the song “Begin the Beguine”. This song was part of a tribute album that was produced by the Red Hot Organization. Keita found success in France as an African star of world music, however he did return to Bamako in the year 2002. His plan was to live and record from home. Since his return home Keita has produced various albums from the studio he built. Some albums are, Moffou, M’Bemba, La Différence, and some others as well. La Différence was dedicated to the struggle of the albino community across the world. In one track on the album he calls on others to understand that different doesn’t necessarily mean bad, and compassion and love should be shared will all people. Keita is a revolutionary singer due to his unique circumstances involving his skin pigment disorder. He never let that disorder lessen what he wanted to accomplish, or how he wanted to impact the world.
Denselow, Robin (5 April 2002). "The African King". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
"Keita." RFI Musique. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2017. Lindiwe Dovey African Film and Literature: Adapting Violence to the Screen 2009 - Page 268
New and Old Music from Rail Band guitarist Djelimady Tounkara. Cora Connection (2002).
Salif Keita Discography Compiled by Graeme Counsel , Radio Africa, retrieved 2009-04-20
The Unsinkable Mali Sound; Super Rail Band, Traore Ride a West African Groove. Fernando Gonzalez. The Washington Post - Washington, D.C. July 11, 2001.