Music: World
Aspects of African Canadian Music
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African "WorldBeat"
The following provides information on a selection of artists and groups that play African music:
Alpha Yaya Daillo
Nominated in 1993 for a Juno, this Vancouver-based guitarist combines African and Western drumming with his unique guitar stylings.
Discography includes "Nene"
Tarig Abubakar & the Afronubians
Formed in the latter nineties, this group has risen to international prominence. They sing in Kiswahili, English and Arabic and their sound is a mix of West African percussion and East and Central African guitar stylings. The Afro-Nubians perform various genres of African music from Soukous to highlife.
Discography includes:"The Great Africans"
Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited
Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited are quickly becoming some of the most widely known and sought after African performers. Once imprisoned for his outspoken stance against the Rhodesian white-minority leadership of his country, Mapfumo remains close to his roots and feels it is important for African musicians not to lose their direction when being influenced by Western sounds.
Muhtadi and Friends
Muhtadia and Friends, a calypso-jazz band has been spicing up Toronto's night life, was formed the mid-1980's. The band was born out of the natural fusion of Toronto's many cultural styles: it blends the music of Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean into a unique feel called "Torontoroc". Muhtadi, the group's founder has been teaching and performing in Canada since 1974. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Muhtadi plays with the Desperadoes steel band in Trinidad during the island's annual Carnival.
Shego Band
The music of this seven member group has been described as "Somali dance music - hip hop, soul, and dance mix with Somali, Arabic and Swahili lyrics".
Lamine Suso
Jali (Master teacher) Lamine Suso from Gambia, West Africa learned to play the 21-stringed Kora under the tutelage of his father. Suso earned the title of "Jali" when he became successful as a local troubadour in his native Gambia, which he subsequently had to leave for political reasons. He has toured widely in West Africa and has been one of the more popular attractions at the WOMAD festivals in Toronto.
