Wassoulou

About Wassoulou

Pentatonic hunter-music tradition from the Wassoulou region of southern Mali, brought into modern pop in the late 1980s by Oumou Sangaré. Built around the kamalengoni harp, female lead vocals, and lyrics that confront forced marriage, polygamy, and women's rights. One of the few major African genres founded by and centred on women, with Fatoumata Diawara and Rokia Traoré carrying the lineage into the 2010s and 2020s.

Key Artists