http://www.kasiisiproject.org/playlists/AfricaApril2006.htm

1. Lucky Dube (South Africa) - It's Not Easy - 5:27
Lucky Dube grew up immersed in the Soweto sound. He turned to reggae in the mid 1980s. By 1990 he was a major international star and he remains one. His early "Captured Live" CD on Shanachie Records is especially fine. See his home page.

2. Afro-Fiesta (Congo DRC) - Uptown Girl - 5:00
Mermans Kenkosenki started secretly playing guitar in the late 1980s as a student in Kinshasa. His desire to be a musician took him to Angola and later to South Africa, where his career flourished in Capetown. Years of practice, growth, and gradual formation of his latest band led in January 2006 to his first album, from which two cuts in this list are taken. More.

3. Mabulu (Mozambique) - N’twananu - 3:14
"Mabulu" means "looking for a dialogue" in one of Mozambique's native languages. Since 1999 the Mabulu project has brought together Mozambican musicians from a number of styles and traditions. Lead vocalists on the Mabulu songs in this list are the elder Lisboa Matavel (the "Troubadour of Mozambique") and young rap star Chiquito. This song's title means "understanding", which is also the song's subject: "How you were suffering, my Mozambique, without a dialogue among your children". For more about Mabulu, see this page.

4. Tiken Jah Fakoly (Ivory Coast) - Allah - 4:01
Roots reggae star Tiken's web site is slow to load and hard to navigate, but it's very much worth a visit.

5. Alpha Yaya Diallo (Guinea) - N’Koro - 4:46
Diallo is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, but he remains true to his roots in Guinea. In the words of one reviewer on his web site, "Rich, lively, hypnotic electrified griot juju pop."

7. Alpha Blondy (Ivory Coast) - Tere - 5:05
Blondy is a worldwide reggae star. His site seems to be in French only. His nickname "Blondy" is an approximate pronunciation of "bandit", which is how his mother viewed him when he was a rebellious child. Here is a biography.

8. Yewande Adebayo (Liberia) - Nahwa O - 4:29
This cut is from the Monrovian-born Adebayo's debut album released in December 2005. She has performed extensively in Great Britain and the United States. Here is her biography.

9. Mabulu (Mozambique) - Ngole Ngole - 2:56
Notes on the earlier Mabulu song in this list has information about the group. This song, "Lonely", says "Sitting on the corner / Asking for bread / All the passersby are looking / For distance".

10. Tiken Jah Fakoly (Ivory Coast) - Alou Maye - 5:25
See notes above under the song "Allah".

11. Les Go De Koteba (Ivory Coast) - Na m’Bara - 5:05
Les Go ("The Girls") sound curiously like The Roches from the 1970s. Though based now in the Ivory Coast they are actually originally from Mali and Guinea. More information from Folk Roots.