It's a truism that drums are the heart and soul of African music. But not so fast: Over the past century, guitarists have redefined the sound of the continent. Two new releases, by Zimbabwean ...

Sheer Sound's new African Guitar Kings compilation features mostly original tunes by some of the most promising South African guitarists working today. From the opening African singing on the first ...

Offers a rare view into the rich textures of African fingerstyle guitar music. It was recorded by the famous cultural anthropologist Gerhard Kubik between 1966 and 1993. These are audio-visual field ...

Better than: Buying a plane ticket to Mali. Western listeners (that’s us, if you were wondering) often need comparisons to dig deeper into “world music.” If that’s what it takes, Wednesday night’s ...

As the music industry gathers for Grammy Week, African music is playing an increasingly prominent role — not only on the awards stage, but across global pop culture.

Artists from the continent are breaking into the Western mainstream. We’ve got a playlist for your weekend cookout. By Desiree Ibekwe This week, The Times published a profile of Tems, a 28-year-old ...

African music, with its distinctive emphasis on polyrhythm and beats flowing from percussive instruments, was long treated as subordinate in the international music arena. Music from the continent ...

Multiple music festivals across the globe are celebrating African music throughout the whole year, and Billboard is rounding up the biggest ones for you to hit up. “Our promise has always been to ...

This has been a strong year for African music, with two big trends emerging. The first is the continuing integration of African music into the U.S. and European mainstream. Nigerian Afrobeat is played ...