Salif Keita

Great art thrives under pressure, and as an albino born into Mandinka culture, pressure has followed Salif Keita wherever he's gone. Albinism is seen as an omen of bad luck, so he was cast out of his native village of Djoliba when he was 18 years old. As traumatic as that must have been, Keita landed on his feet, moving to Bamako, the Malian capital, and joining the government sponsored group Super Rail Band de Bamako soon afterwards. After spending some time in the band, he left the group to form another one called Les Ambassadeurs in 1973, but trouble still found a way of catching up to him. After the massive political unrest that flared up in Mali in the mid-70's, the band fled to the Ivory Coast, changing their name to Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux in the process.

For the rest of the 70's and the early 80's, Keita became something of a star while in the band, and in 1982 he decided to record and released his first genuine solo album. “Seydou Bathili” was critically adored, and Keita moved to Paris two years later in order for his music to reach a more general audience. Ever since then, he's remained one of the most iconic names in African pop music, a star all over the world who's taken traditional Malian music, and combined it with influences cribbed from all forms of mainstream pop music as well. For remaining one of the true greats of African music for nearly half a century, Salif Keita comes highly recommended.