Female singers are the most popular among the people; Oumou Sangare is only one of many divas whose songs are played at all hours of the day on the local radio stations (who don’t pay royalties, by the way). Next comes Salif Keita, Mali’s superstar, who now lives in Paris for most of the year. Toumani Diabate plays the kora and has recorded with Ketama and Taj Mahal, as well as making several albums with his collaborators of choice, ngoni player Basekou Kouyate and balafonist Keletigi Diabate. Rokia Traore is an up-and-coming young singer-songwriter who writes modern songs with traditional melodies; many of us saw her as the Ani DiFranco of Mali, getting her message across with her guitar and amazing voice.

We were all crazy about Habib Koite. There was just something about the way he combined traditional melodies and western song structures, including hooks and choruses and refrains and bridges that made us happy, the way good music does. His guitar work is incredible; he was trained classically at the Institute National des Arts. He spent almost twenty years playing small clubs and bars in Bamako, gradually moving up to Peace Corps and U.S. Embassy functions, and produced Muso Ko in 1990. In 1998 Ma Ya topped the world charts for several weeks. He sings about women, modernity, and children, and adapts traditional songs into gorgeous, concise experiences. Unlike many of his fellow musicians, he has no plans to leave Mali for a more materially prosperous life in France or the U.S. He sees his generation giving up on their country, and is saddened by their refusal to embrace their own culture and their own traditions.