1. Vusa Mkhaya (Zimbabwe) - Africa - 5:55
Vusa's name, voice and music all resemble Vusi Mahlasela's, but he is a rare find in his own right. Both his songs in this list are from his album Spirit of Ubuntu, available on Calabash.

2. Cheikh Lô (Sénégal) - Ndogal - 5:26
The song title "Ndogal" means "If it pleases God". From the liner notes: "You are counting on God. Since God is generous he will do what he can. But since you are fooling around, you will not have what you want." This song and Cheikh's other in this list are from his excellent album Né La Thiass, produced by Youssou N'Dour. The album has lengthy and rich liner notes that include a detailed biography. Cheikh was born in Burkina Faso of Sénégalese parents.

3. Ismaël Isaac (Côte D'Ivoire) - Magno Maki - 4:16
From album notes on Calabash: "The polio-stricken Issiaka Diakite was 15 when Bob Marley died in 1981. This was a decisive moment for the young man. He decided, there and then, that reggae was African music."

4. Aboutou Roots (Côte D'Ivoire) - Travail - 2:18
Tight harmonies in this a capella piece and brilliant rhythms in other pieces appear to characterize the Youssoumba style. Their music is available on Calabash.

5. Habib Koité (Mali) - N'tesse - 4:33
"N'tesse" means "I cannot" in Bambara. This song is about challenges facing families, community and nation: "Come and help me, neighbours, wives and children. We will find the solution." Customers have given this recent album, Afriki, five stars on average on Amazon; the only surprise to me is that not everyone has given this album the maximum of five stars.

6. Iskelu (Côte D'Ivoire, Mali) - Coffee for Beans - 2:04
From this purchase-and-download Audiosparx page: "A beautifully rich African melody incorporating Ngoni, djembe, percussion, guitar, kalimba, shakers, strings, and lovely textured african male vocals." This seems to be packaged New Age music in the spririt of Africa, but not actual African music.

7. Zodwa (South Africa) - Teng Sefapano - 4:14
What a fine high voice! There's not much about Zodwa on the net. Here's a very brief biography.

8. Deza XXL (Côte D'Ivoire) - Awoula - 4:35
Deza XXL (actual name: Ehui Niamké Ezoua Louis Philippe René) is from a small city near Abidjan. "Deza" refers to a reputed hot temperament and "XXL" refers to his massiveness. Here is an excellent biography.

9. Thandie (Zambia) - Anthu - 3:12
See the album cover and read a brief overview of Thandie's career on Calabash. She's one of the rare accessible musicians from Zambia.

10. Cheikh Lô (Sénégal) - Né La Thiass - 4:27
The song and album title "Né La Thiass" means "gone in a flash". From the album's liner notes about this song: "You can be going in a straight line, sure of your direction, but along the way many things can happen..." The Leopard Man's interesting notes about Cheikh, who wears dreadlocks but is not Rastafarian.

11. Vusa Mkhaya (Zimbabwe) - Vuka - 5:04
Vusa Mkhaya's site discusses the South African Imbube vocal style that was Vusa's earliest musical influence.

12. Ben Okafor (Nigeria) - Look Out - 2:27
Benedict Chukwudebelu Okafor fought as a child soldier in Nigeria in the late 1960s. He has lived in the UK for the past 25 years. Here is his very informative website.