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Malian singer and activist Oumou Sangaré strips songs from her electrifying 2017 album into their warmest, barest forms on Acoustic

In 2017, celebrated Malian Wassalou singer and activist Oumou Sangaré released Mogoya, her first new album since 2009. During the intervening eight years, she’d largely stepped away from the spotlight to pursue a variety of business ventures, including establishing agricultural projects, opening a hotel, and launching a new car, the Oum Sang. For Sangaré each […]

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Ali Farka Toure

In Mali, when a family loses a child, by custom they give the next baby an unusual nickname. Ali Toure’s mother had borne nine boys who died in infancy, so when she had her tenth she called him “Farka,” which means “donkey.” And the young Ali did turn out to be stubborn, bucking his country’s […]