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griot

Griot

Mali · 1200s
EpicSentimentalChillRomanticDancing

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Description

Griot (also called jeli/jali) is the hereditary West African tradition of poet-singers, historians, and musicians whose craft combines storytelling, praise-singing, genealogy, diplomacy, and music.

It is centered in the Mande world of today’s Mali, Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea, and is best known for virtuosic performances on the kora (21‑string harp-lute), balafon (xylophone), and ngoni (lute), alongside powerful, ornamented vocals.

Griot music is structured around cyclical ostinatos with improvisatory flourishes, call-and-response, and text that preserves communal memory—epics, lineages, and moral instruction—delivered in languages such as Mandinka and Bambara.

While deeply traditional, the griot aesthetic has adapted to modern stages and studios, influencing global “world music,” West African pop, and blues-derived styles.

History

Origins in the Mali Empire

The griot tradition coalesced in the 13th century alongside the rise of the Mali Empire. Hereditary musician-castes (jeliw/jaliya) served royal courts as historians, diplomats, mediators, and praise-singers. Their authority rested on mastery of lineage lore, rhetorical skill, and musical command of instruments like the kora, balafon, and ngoni.

Roles and Transmission

Griot knowledge was transmitted within families through apprenticeship. Repertoires included epic cycles (notably narratives related to Sundiata Keita), genealogies, proverbs, and praise songs for patrons. Musically, performance centered on cyclical accompaniment patterns (kumbengo) supporting improvisatory lines (birimintingo), with flexible meter and modal frameworks native to Mande aesthetics.

Colonial Era to Nationhood

Under colonial rule, griots adapted their practice to shifting patronage, from courts to urban audiences and radio. In the mid-20th century, national ensembles and state recording initiatives helped canonize repertoires. Griot artistry entered pan-African stages and international circuits via festivals and tours.

Globalization and Recording

From the late 20th century onward, artists such as Toumani Diabaté and Mory Kanté brought kora and griot song to global audiences, collaborating across jazz, pop, and orchestral settings. The tradition remains vibrant in ceremonies and local patronage while thriving in contemporary formats—from solo acoustic concerts to amplified bands—preserving its narrative function and expanding its sound palette.

How to make a track in this genre

Instruments and Setup
•   Core instruments: kora (21-string harp-lute), ngoni (lute), and balafon (xylophone). Hand percussion may support but is not mandatory. •   Tune kora to a traditional Mande tuning and set a steady ostinato (kumbengo) as the foundation.
Rhythm and Form
•   Build music from cyclical patterns (often in 12/8 feel, but 4/4 is also common), emphasizing groove and subtle syncopation. •   Alternate sections of steady accompaniment with improvised passages (birimintingo), and use call-and-response between voice and instrument.
Melody and Harmony
•   Favor modal frameworks typical of Mande music; melodies outline the mode over a repeating harmonic drone or implied tonic rather than chord changes. •   Ornament vocal lines with melisma, slides, and dynamic shaping; on instruments, interlock bass, accompaniment, and melodic figures.
Text and Delivery
•   Write lyrics that honor patrons or community, recount genealogies, history, or moral tales. Balance praise with narrative substance. •   Perform in a storytelling voice with rhetorical emphasis; pace verses so key names and events land on strong beats of the cycle.
Arrangement and Production Tips
•   Start solo (voice + kora/ngoni/balafon), then add light percussion, second stringed part, or backing vocals to lift intensity. •   Keep mixes clear and intimate. Prioritize the timbre of the lead instrument and the intelligibility of the voice; avoid over-quantization to preserve human feel.

Top albums

Djeli Moussa Diawara
Djeli Moussa Diawara
Djeli Moussa Diawara
New Ancient Strings
New Ancient Strings
Toumani Diabaté & Ballaké Sissoko
The Mandé Variations
The Mandé Variations
Toumani Diabaté
Ali and Toumani
Ali and Toumani
Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté
Djelika
Djelika
Toumani Diabaté
Segu Blue
Segu Blue
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba

Main artists

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Folk
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Has influenced
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Tassu
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Benna
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Mbalax
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Alloukou
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Fula Music
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Hausa Music
Hausa music refers to the traditional and contemporary musical practices of the Hausa people of the central Sahel, especially in northern Nigeria and southern Niger. It blends pre-Islamic ritual and court repertoires with centuries of Islamic influence: long brass trumpets (kakaki) and double-reed shawms (algaita) sound at emirate courts, while the hourglass talking drum (kalangu), frame and barrel drums (ganga), and the one-string spike fiddle (goje) or gourd lute (kuntigi) anchor praise-singing, storytelling, and dance pieces. Melodies are often narrow-ranged and ornamented, with call-and-response vocals and cyclical polyrhythms in 6/8 or 12/8. Lyrics in Hausa celebrate lineage, leaders, and moral values (including Islamic devotion), and may also accompany spirit-possession (Bori) ceremonies. Today, the tradition spans royal ceremonial ensembles, folk praise specialists (mawaka), Islamic devotional song (madahu), and vibrant Kannywood film-pop and Hausa-language hip hop/afropop, all retaining characteristic timbres, rhythms, and poetic devices (kirari—epithets/boasts).
Songhai Music
Songhai music refers to the traditional and contemporary musical practices of the Songhai/Songhay (including Zarma) people of the Niger River bend, centered around Gao and Timbuktu in present-day Mali and extending into Niger and Burkina Faso. It is marked by cyclical, swaying rhythms in 6/8 or 12/8, pentatonic-based melodies, call-and-response singing, and a close link between poetry, praise-singing, and social ceremony. Characteristic timbres come from skin-resonating calabash percussion and plucked lutes such as the kurbu/molo (a local ngoni-type lute), alongside handclaps, one-string fiddles (njarka/goge), and, in modern contexts, blues-inflected guitar. Historically tied to courtly praise and epic narrative during the Songhai Empire, the style today spans intimate village ceremonies, takamba dance repertoires, and globally known desert-blues hybrids popularized by artists like Ali Farka Touré.
Wolof Music
Wolof music refers to the traditional and contemporary musical practices of the Wolof people of Senegal (and in parts of The Gambia and Mauritania). It centers on richly layered percussion, call-and-response vocals, praise-singing by hereditary griots (gewel), and dance-driven forms. Core timbres come from the sabar drum family (played with one stick and one hand), the tama (talking drum), and the xalam (a skin-stringed lute). Vocals often alternate between solo griot lines, antiphonal choruses, and spoken-sung poetic declamation (taasu), all delivered in Wolof language. Melodically, pieces gravitate around modal centers rather than extended harmonic progressions, while rhythmically they employ polyrhythms, off-beat accents, and dramatic breaks to cue dance and movement. In the late 20th century, these Wolof foundations powered the rise of mbalax, which fused sabar patterns with Afro-Cuban, pop, and jazz elements. Today, Wolof aesthetics remain audible across Senegalese popular styles and in global worldbeat collaborations.
Dagomba Music
Dagomba music is the traditional music of the Dagbamba (Dagomba) people of northern Ghana. It centers on a sophisticated court-and-community drumming culture performed by hereditary drummer-historians known as lunsi. Its core instruments are the hourglass tension "talking drum" (lunga/lunna) and the cylindrical bass drum (gung-gong/gungon), often supported by iron bells and rattles, voice, and occasionally the one-string fiddle (gonje). The lead talking drum "speaks" praise names and historical texts in the tones and rhythms of the Dagbani language, guiding dancers and the ensemble. Rhythmically, Dagomba music is polyrhythmic and cyclical, moving between 12/8 and 4/4 feels with dense cross-rhythms, off-beat phrasing, and cue-based breaks. It accompanies important social and ritual events—chiefly festivals (e.g., Damba), processions, royal ceremonies, and popular dances such as Baamaaya and Takai—where music, history, and dance are inseparable.
Folktales
Folktales is a narrative-focused audio genre rooted in traditional oral storytelling. Performances typically feature a single narrator delivering culturally transmitted stories—myths, legends, trickster tales, and wonder tales—often with minimal or no musical accompaniment. Unlike literary fairy tales, folktales arise from communal authorship and evolve through retellings. In recorded form, they emphasize voice, pacing, formulaic openings and closings, repetition, and audience engagement. While many releases target children, folktale recordings also serve adult audiences, preserving dialects, proverbs, and worldview across communities.
Malian Blues
Malian blues is a West African guitar tradition that blends the pentatonic modalities, call-and-response singing, and cyclical grooves of Mali’s Songhai and Mandé cultures with the phrasing and melancholy timbre of American Delta blues. Typically performed with plucked ngoni and kora patterns adapted to acoustic or lightly overdriven electric guitar, it features trance-like ostinatos, gently rocking Sahel/Sahara rhythms (often calabash, hand percussion, or light drum kit), and lyrics in Bambara, Songhai, Tamasheq, or French that speak to love, migration, memory, and daily life in the Niger River and Sahara regions. The style is intimate and spacious: riffs repeat and evolve subtly; vocals float in a conversational, griot-informed delivery; and the overall feel is reflective yet grooving—equally suited to quiet listening and unhurried dancing.
Senegalese Traditional
Senegalese traditional music encompasses the ceremonial, communal, and courtly musical practices of Senegal’s many peoples (Wolof, Serer, Pulaar/Fula, Jola/Diola, Mandinka, and others). It is anchored by griot (gewel) lineages who preserve history and praise-singing, and by powerful drum ensembles centered on sabar and tama (talking drum), as well as string traditions like the xalam (khalam/ngoni), kora, and riti. Performed at life-cycle rituals, wrestling events (laamb), community festivals, and religious gatherings, the music is intensely rhythmic and participatory, featuring polyrhythms, call-and-response vocals, praise poetry (tassu), and dance-led forms such as ndawrabine and farwu. Melodically it favors modal and pentatonic frameworks, with expressive ornamentation informed by local languages and Islamic recitation aesthetics.
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