Artistiya

1. Amadou “Adez” Traoré, “Tunga Man Ɲi” [audio]"

Recruited by municipal officials to “perform the nation” (Askew 2002), members of Pionnier Jazz composed songs to support Mali’s nascent nation building project. One of their first songs was “Tunga Man Ɲi” (“Exile Is Bad”). As Amadou Traoré, a founding member of the group, explained to me, “[“Tunga Man Ɲi”] spoke to [Malians] in other countries… to tell them that Mali is independent… We called on them to return to Mali, to work, to build the nation.” (pg. 47)

2. Triton Stars, “Immigration” [audio - commercial recording]

For a new generation of Malian artists, the refrain “Exile is bad” continues to be sung—indeed, it is one of the most widely represented themes in Malian popular music today—but, unlike independence-era calls to “return home” and “build the nation,” modern-day songs of exile are cautionary tales, acknowledging the urgency of travel abroad while at the same time warning of the threats to local lifeworlds such travel poses. (pgs. 50-51)

3. Issa Bamba, “A Praise Song for Uncle Sékou” [audio]

Midway through the band’s set, and following a lively Afro-Cuban rendition of the dance band hit “Mami Wata” (a widely interpreted regional pop song named for a serpent-bearing female water deity), singer Issa Bamba called out to the audience, “Tonton Sama Sékou, this one is for you!” Naming a patron before a praise song was not surprising—Issa is well regarded by club patrons for his performance of laudatory jeliya, which makes up more than a third of his band’s sets on Saturday nights—but this particular recipient of Issa’s praise was noteworthy. (pg. 61)