Seya means ‘joy’. Oumou Sangare’s new disc is very joyful, her voice magnificent, her musicians splendid. The Malian diva is delighting listeners, at home and abroad. Her original songs also make them ...

So why, with more than 50 African countries to choose from, do we keep returning to the music of Mali? Surely there must be other countries on the continent with an equally viable and vibrant musical ...

Oumou Sangaré has no time for modesty. On the second track here a griot, a West African traditional musician, breaks in with a lengthy praise song about Sangaré herself, announcing: "Oumou has always ...

Oumou Sangare's new album Seya is the artists first album in six years. Oumou Sangare began singing at weddings and on the streets more than 25 years ago in Mali's musical metropolis, Bamako. Now, ...

Before European-derived concepts of career management became widespread among African recording artists, following the emergence of the world music movement in the late 1980s and 1990s, a musician's ...

What has Oumou Sangare been doing for the last 13 years? Six feet of swaying, statuesque, serenely smiling charisma, the Malian diva effortlessly dominated the stage during Damon Albarn's recent ...

With the death of Miriam Makeba, Mali's Oumou Sangare stands unchallenged as Africa's most important female singer. Sangare was singing for money at age 5 and supporting her family at 13. Now, after a ...

Malian women are tough, even ballsy. Ballsy and very feminine at the same time. It's a balancing act that few western divas I know of can pull off without looking as if they've used a life-coach and a ...

"Seya," the title track from Oumou Sangare's recent album, is a Malian squealer. "Seya" translates to "joy," and its lyrics include the brief line I like to look good. This is not the main focus of ...

Oumou Sangare began singing at weddings and on the streets more than 25 years ago in Mali's musical metropolis, Bamako. Now, with the release of her sixth album, Seya, Sangare has gone from an ...

MALI is a powerhouse of West African music, having produced Salif Keita, Amadou and Mariam and Toumani Diabaté, among others. Whatever it is about the country that leads to such musicality, Oumou ...