Conakry (AFP)

Guinean singer and musician Mory Kanté, made world famous by the hit "Yéké Yéké" in the 1980s, died Friday at the age of 70 in a hospital in Conakry, his son Balla Kanté announced to a correspondent for the 'AFP.

Mory Kanté, nicknamed the "electric griot", helped popularize African and Guinean music around the world. "Yéké Yéké", one of the biggest hits in the history of African music released in 1987, has sold millions of copies, and reached the heights of charts in many countries.

Mory Kanté died "around 9.45 this morning at the Sino-Guinean hospital" in the Guinean capital, said her son.

"He suffered from chronic illnesses and often traveled to France for treatment, but with the coronavirus it was no longer possible," he added.

"We saw his condition deteriorate quickly, but I was still surprised because he had already gone through much worse times," he said.

Born into a famous family of griots, these poets, storytellers, musicians depositaries of oral culture in Africa, Mory Kanté was one of the first musicians, with the Malian Salif Keita, to spread Mandingo music far from its borders.

Mory Kanté, who spent much of his youth in neighboring Mali, joined the famous Bamako Rail Band in the early 1970s, of which Salif Keita was the singer.

- "An immense heritage" -

After leaving the Rail Band, he revolutionized West African music in the 1980s by electrifying his instrument and opening up traditional Mandingo village music to electronic beats and more urban "grooves". The concept of "World Music" was still in its infancy.

With "Yéké Yéké", this master of the traditional stringed instrument that is the kora, also endowed with a powerful lead voice, rose to international glory and brought Mandingo music to the dance floors. The album "Akwaba Beach" which featured this song was one of the biggest world sales of music from black Africa.

In the 2000s, after a certain disenchantment with a weary public, he had for a time oriented towards more acoustic music, within an orchestra where the strings predominated.

At the beginning of the 2010s, in "La Guinéenne", his first disc for eight years, recorded in the country, he chose the formula of the big orchestra, that of the golden age of West African music in the post- independence, with a series of Mandingo melodies sung on western grooves, with funk, reggae, zouk accents.

Mory Kanté, who was a goodwill ambassador for the Food Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and sang for the benefit of the fight against the Ebola fever which hit Guinea hard between 2013 and 2016, was an essential personality in his country.

"African culture is in mourning," tweeted President Alpha Condé, "Thank you, the artist. An exceptional journey. Exemplary. Pride."

"He leaves an immense heritage for culture, too vast to name everything," said his son, and "he also did a lot for culture in his country by building studios, cultural structures. But above all, he valued Guinean and African music by making it known throughout the world. "

© 2020 AFP