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•   AFRICA'S TOP MUSIC ARTIST - Youssou N'dour - African artist most people in the West have heard of because of his '7 Seconds' smash hit with Neneh Cherry, recordings with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel and touring alongside Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Tracy Chapman. His recent appearences at Live8 concerts saw him dueting with Dido, wowing global audiences. Senegalese N'Dour, whose multiple-octave vocal range would surely make Mariah Carey jealous, is the pioneer of Mbalax, an up-tempo blend of African, Caribbean, and pop rhythms.

<img align="center" src="http://www.youssou.com/Awards/Youssou_im.jpg">
•   AFRICA'S TOP MUSIC ARTIST -

Over a decade after his death, vindication has come to Fela Kuti, Africa’s musical genius. AfroBeat, his gift to the world, is now an international staple on his own uncompromising terms, social content intact.

Throughout his life, Fela contended that AfroBeat was a modern form of danceable, African classical music with an urgent message for the planet’s denizens. Created out of a cross-breeding of Funk, Jazz, Salsa and Calypso with Juju, Highlife and African percussive patterns, it was to him a political weapon.

The fact that AfroBeat is today globally winning hearts in its original form – lengthy, ably crafted, earthy compositions laced with explicitly political lyrics – suggests that Fela’s purgatory on earth may have served to awaken a sensibility in people to appreciate authenticity and substance.

 

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