Popular Music and Politics in Sekou Toure's Guinea

Abstract

The West African nations of Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and The Gambia, all of which formed part of the Empire of Mali, have since independence sought to revitalize and invigorate their traditional arts and culture. Their cultural policies helped form one of the most vibrant music scenes in Africa, and authors such as Waterman, Schulz, and Charry have offered an examination of the origin of the musical styles. As exercises in the relatively new field of 'urban ethnomusicology' they concern themselves with the music of Africa's cities and urban centres and underscore how music, as an aspect of culture, informs us about the nature of the society which created it. This paper, which examines the revitalization of traditional music in Guinea under S kou Tour and the political role of musicians, in contrast examines how music can also fail to inform us.

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