The famous Guinean musician Mory Kanté is dead

Text by: RFI Follow

Guinean singer and musician Mory Kanté died of a long illness this Friday May 22 at the age of 70 in a hospital in Conakry according to his son Balla Kanté. Nicknamed the “electric griot”, helped popularize African and Guinean music around the world, notably with its planetary hit “Yéké Yéké”.

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It is especially the  hit " Yéké Yéké  " which has earned international recognition. This title released in 1987 on the album Akwaba Beach which made the whole planet dance. He has been the subject of countless remixes around the world.

Mory Kanté came from a large family of Guinean and Malian griot. He had been trained from a young age to be a djali and to tell the endless epics of families in music. In 1960, he lives in Bamako and receives influences from Zairean rumba, Cuban salsa but also Anglo-Saxon pop rock. He plays balaphon, guitar and kora. He joined the Bamako Rail Band in 1961. The singer of this group is a certain Salif Keita.

On stages around the world

And then from Abidjan to Los Angeles, he will never stop mixing his traditional and electric music. His group of 16 musicians and 7 dancers also includes 8 nationalities.

►Also listen: SessionLab - Mory Kanté, the story of a lifetime

Mory Kanté was a real star on the continent but he had also triumphed in France (with a gold record in October 1988 and a Victoire de la Musique for the best French album) and in Europe. He performed on all the major stages in the world. His last album La Guinéenne was released in 2012. In 2019, in partnership with RFI Talent, he released  Cocorico! Ride of a griot! , a book-disc, initiation tale for young audiences rooted in Mandingo culture.

►Also read on RFI Musique: Mory Kanté's biography

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