[MissYasuri]

Check on this artists! it´s a good way to start:

Angelique Kidjo

The music of Angelique Kidjo-the queen of African crossover pop-has invited comparisons with Grace Jones, Tina Turner and Chaka Khan. Indeed, her explosive stage energy, razor sharp voice, and fearlessly funky dance pocket puts her in a camp with these divas of western pop, but Kidjo rankles at the oft-heard criticism that she has abandoned her African roots. She grew up in Benin, a sliver-like West African nation that marks a crossroads between the Islamic civilizations that came from the north and the older, black African cultures. Her village, Ouidah, lies in a region steeped in traditional African religion, and she still returns there for inspiration.

Raised in an artistic family, Kidjo sang rock and r&b with her musician brothers before moving to Paris in 1983. There, she lent her voice and percussion prowess to various jazz and pop projects, including Archie Shepp's 1988 Mama Rosa. In 1991, backed by Chris Blackwell and Mango Records, she worked with Miami producer Joe Galdo to create Logozo, the record that launched her worldwide career and earned her commercial radio play in the US. Fiercely committed to musical adventurism and to the cause of human rights, Kidjo sailed the most progressive currents in Afropop from the start. She had reserves choice words for those who found her slick sound un-African. "The world is getting smaller and smaller," she said in the early '90s. "I sing about problems that are not only in Benin or Africa. I write for everybody."

Kidjo toured the U.S. with Africa Fête in 1993, and produced two more powerful albums for Mango. When big changes came down at Island--ending Mango--Kidjo was the only African singer to stay with the mother label. By the them Kidjo produced her next release, Oremi (1998), she was living in Brooklyn, rather than Paris, collaborating with R&B and jazz musicians--Kelly Price sings on the release--and singing some tracks in English. Kidjo's version of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" is a knockout. Kidjo's 2002 release, Black Ivory Soul is a rich exploration of Brazilian music.

Cesaria Évora

More than half of Cape Verdeans live far from the beautiful archipelago their ancestors once called home. The Portuguese discovered these ten Atlantic Ocean islands in 1460, populated them with Africans and Europeans, and governed harshly until 1975. Three-hundred-and-fifty miles off the coast of Senegal, Cape Verde served as one of Africa's first slave ports, and became one of its last nations to achieve independence. All this helps to explain why the melancholy morna, an often minor-key song style tied to love, loss and sadness, best expresses the Cape Verdean national identity. And nobody sings a morna with more gusto than Cesaria Èvora .

Cesaria Èvora was born and lived most of her first fifty years on the island of Sào Vicente. Her violinist father died when she was just seven, and though she does not remember him, her grandmother has told her that she used to sit on his lap while he played. Surrounded by music, Èvora grew up singing with her friends in the suburbs of Mindelo. When she was 16, a boyfriend who played guitar convinced her that she had an exceptional voice and encouraged her to pursue music as a profession. Before long, Èvora recorded some songs for the national radio station, and began to build a reputation.

Those colonial times offered few options for musicians, but Èvora developed a modest career performing in bars and restaurants, and sometimes in the homes of wealthy Portuguese patrons. She idolized Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holliday and Amalia Rodriguez, the greatest exponent of the fado, and though she steers clear of making comparisons between the morna and other forms, she does concede a certain spiritual connection with the blues because it too was born of suffering.

Èvora performs with closed eyes and bare feet, which she calls part of the "national costume" of Cape Verde. She says that when she sings, memories play in her head transporting her to other times and places. Èvora 's triumphs have not changed her much. When not performing, she still lives in Sào Vicente with her mother, and near her two children and their children. Tough-minded and self-assured, Èvora proclaims a fondness for cigarettes and whiskey, shrugging off any notion that such habits might harm her voice. "I've had plenty of time to ruin my voice," she says. "And since it's not ruined yet, I'm going to continue." Èvora's Grammy-nominated 1999 album, Café Atlantico, included invited musicians from other parts of the world, particularly Latin America. On her 2001 release, São Vicente, she goes still further, including performances with Caetano Veloso, Bonnie Raitt, and Orquestra Aragon, among others.

Salif Keita

In 1968, in the Malian capital of Bamako, a 19-year-old albino boy scrapped the conventions of his noble ancestry to become a professional singer. Poor despite his social standing, rebellious, and vexed by poor eyesight, the boy chose music over the only alternative he saw, a life of crime. Salif Keita sang with the legendary, Latin-tinged Rail Band of Bamako in the early '70s before starting his own more fusion-oriented group, Les Ambassadeurs which also featured brilliant Guinean guitarist Kante Manfila. Keita moved to Paris in 1984, and there he recorded Soro, a dazzlingly beautiful realization of his brooding, modern take on Malian tradition. Soro set a new standard for electric Afropop, and it legitimized African music in the progressive rock mold-music for listening, not just dancing. Keita sings with belting, no-holds-barred passion that evokes blues shouters and r&b screamers. But his sound hews close to the style of the Islamic Manding griots, who sing to evoke the grand struggles and tragedies of history. After many struggles, Keita has learned to tap into the pain of life and to transcend it in cathartic song. Today, with a Grammy nomination for his 1992 Amen-a collaboration with Weather Report's Joe Zawinul- Keita ranks among the most celebrated African singers who ever lived. Keita's 1999 release, Papa, was co-produced by Vernon Reid and moved more aggressively in the direction of rock music than any of the singer's previous works. Papa met with initial skepticism both at home and abroad, but the release has become extremely popular in Mali, and it earned Keita a second Grammy Award nomination in 2000.

Youssou N'Dour

Senegal's golden-throated pop colossus Youssou N'Dour wowed his first audience when he was just twelve, and went on to conquer much of the world with his blend of traditional sabar and tama drumming, Latin dance music, rock and r&b. Though N'Dour's mother came from a griot family, his father opposed his son's musical career. But once the Senegalese heard N'Dour's majestic voice, life in the civil service was out of the question. In 1979, "Dakar's Little Prince" formed the Super Etoiles, and became the most popular singer of Senegal's mbalax pop. N'Dour soon won the ear of Peter Gabriel, who eventually invited him to join Amnesty International's "Human Rights Now" world tour in 1988. N'Dour still works with many of his original musicians, including talking drum master Assane Thiam, Babacar Faye on sabar drums, and bassist, keyboard player and arranger Habib Faye. Softening the jagged sabar rhythms to create savvy, contemporary pop, N'Dour sings in five languages to reach the widest possible audience. Some of N'Dour's older fans find his new sound too western, but he doesn't mind. "I am a modern man," says N'Dour. "I love traditional things, but I think African music must be popular. We have to go forward." Intent on bringing his countrymen along, N'Dour recently built a state-of-the-art recording studio called Xippi or "Eyes Open" for musicians in Dakar. Early Xippi releases include work by singer Manel Diop, and also N'Dour's sister, Abibatou N'Dour. In 1994, N'Dour's collaboration with American/British hip-hop singer Neneh Cherry-the song "7 Seconds"-sold over 1.5 million copies and won MTV Europe's Best Song award.

Amr Diab

Who is the most popular musician in the Arab world today? Names like Algeria's Khaled and Lebanon's Fairuz come to mind. But if the question is based on record sales, the answer is simple: Egypt's Amr Diab. The king of Arabic pop began singing publicly at the age of six. It was then when his father brought him to the 23rd Music Festival at Port Said, Egypt, where he was invited to sing Egypt's national anthem, "Biladi, Biladi". The young Diab was awarded a guitar as a prize - which helped launch his highly successful career. He studied music formally at the Cairo Academy of Art, and following his graduation, he released his first CD, "Ya Tareeq".

Amr Diab quickly developed fame for his new style of "Pan-Mediterranean" Arabic music, fusing touches of Flamenco and Rai, western pop with traditional Arabic rhythms. By 1992, he became the first Arabic artist to start making high-tech music videos. The following year, Diab launched a film career, starring in 3 features including "Dhahk We La'ab" (Laughter & Fun), with acclaimed actor Omar Sharif.

In 1996, Diab returned to the recording studio and produced the smash hit, "Nour el Ain" (You are the Light in My Eyes), an infectious pop hit that immediately went platinum and became the biggest selling Arabic recording to date, and earned Diab three Awards at the 1997 Arabic Music Awards (for Best Video, Best Song and Artist of the Year). Since then, Diab has remained at the top of the Arabic music scene, expanding reach to all parts of the Mediterranean with his 1999 release, "Amarain", that featured duets with Algeria's Khaled and Greece's Angela Dimitriou.

Thanks to Afropop.com