One thing about African music is that it always leaves a mark, a feeling and an impact that will never quite go away. Our music transcends all borders and brings the world to find the source of our sound- our culture. In talking about how far African music has come as a whole, here are top 10 African music legends in no particular order. Legends who have played significant roles in making sure the world hears and falls in love with our sound. By doing that, African culture is one step forward to gaining even more prominence in the history books. Just like the famous South African icon, Hugh Maekela said-
I’ve got to where I am in life not because of something I brought to the world, but through something I found- The wealth of African culture
Miriam Makeba: The Rejected Mama Africa
Miriam Makeba was born in South Africa in 1932 and soon after, found her voice singing for the choir. You know it’s about to be one legendary story when an artist’s career starts in the choir. Miriam had the voice of an angel and an incredible performing gusto. Similar to most music legends from South Africa, Miriam lended her voice to the ongoing fight against arpatheid at the time. By the late 1950s she made a name for herself and soon after, appeared in the documentary Come Back Africa in 1959.
She soon took her music overseas and settled in the states where she brought the love of Xhosa and Zulu songs to her Western audiences. Now, because of how critical Miriam Makeba was of the South African government, she was denied reentry back into her own country. Subsequently her songs were also banned all across South Africa. However, the feeling of rejection did nothing to deter her career. Soon after, she won a Grammy Award in 1965 along with Belafonte.
When Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa, he invited her back to her home country where she performed in 1991 for the first time since her exile. In 1993, she was the first Black Woman to speak at the United Nations.
The tenacious Mama Africa died in November 2008. But she will no doubt still remain a name on our lips for generations to come.
Fela Kuti, The Renowned legend of Afrobeat
Fela, known for his role in pioneering Afrobeat has also risen to legend status because of how much he did for African music in his lifetime. He was born in October 1938 in Nigeria. He studied music in London and soon returned with his own Afrobeat band, Africa 70. Fela used his voice to openly critique the military rule in Nigeria at the time. As you can guess, this caused a bone of contention between him and the government that never really went away.
Fela was so undeterred that he went ahead to nominate himself for president in 1983. But the Nigerian government would have none of it and refused his candidature. Subsequently, he spent a lot of time in and out of jail. But he never backed down on criticizing his government with his music. Today, we have the annual Felaberation festival, the New Afrika shrine and so many other monuments with which we remember the iconic man by. His evergreen sayings keep us grounded… “The human spirit is stronger than any government or institution”.
Angelique Kidjo, A sensational african music legend
This is the icon who started out as a movie star of Yoruba origin born in July 1960. She was born into a family of performing artists, so it wasn’t hard finding her voice. Soon, she became a full time musician with a voice people found easy to love. As her reach expanded, she performed songs in English, Yoruba and French, appealing to audiences both home and abroad.
Angelique is a five time Grammy Award winning artist, with so many other awards under her belt. She is one of the African music legends the world will not forget because aside from her powerful voice, she was an advocate of good education and health care for both women and children. And now, we know her as one of the top 10 African music legends of all time.
Youssou N’Dor, the african music legend from senegal
The famous Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dor was once described by Rolling Stone as “…perhaps the most famous singer alive in Senegal and Africa”. Youssou used his music to speak out against political injustices at the time. This made him a man of many talents. A composer, an actor, a musician, a businessman and even a politician. He served as Senegal’s Minister of Tourism from 2012 to 2013.
If you know the popular music style Mbalax, then you should know that Youssou Ndor had a major party to play in its popularization. He remains one of the most celebrated icons in the history of African music with a strong fanbase both home and abroad. Anyone who heard him sing was immediately enraptured by his voice which New York Times describes as “a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority.”
Lucky Dube, the outspoken african music legend
Lucky Philip Dube, the rastafairan who was named Lucky because his mom saw his birth as a miracle. He is one of the most famous South African artists who started out singing in traditional Zulu. As he became more confident in his sound, he evolved into reggae and used his music style to become a voice for the people. This was a voice that expressed displeasure at the ongoing struggle with arpatheid, and both political and spiritual issues at the time.
Starting out with reggae was met with a lot of opposition for Dube as South Africa was under an all-white government at that time. This led to his first reggae album “Rasta Never Die” being banned from radio airplay. However, this didn’t stop the African music legend Lucky Dube from going ahead to record a second and then a third reggae album that sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Dube’s music soon gathered a large fanbase to him and he subsequently won awards at the World Music Awards among other prestigious recognitions.
Brenda Fassie, the bubblegum music legend
Once again, the Black Madonna comes up in a Soot Africa piece. Although the world didn’t get enough of Brenda Fassie, she was a strong voice that spoke about whatever she believed in, without hesitation. Brenda started singing at a young age and soon after joined bands like ‘Joy’ and ‘Brenda and the Big Dudes’. After that, she pursued a solo career at which she was wildly successful. She majorly sang a genre of music called Bubblegum music.
Brenda was known as The Black Madonna not only because of her powerful pipes, but also how fearless she seemed. Her music covered a wide range of themes. From love songs to songs that appealed for the release of Nelson Mandela, her Black President. Brenda’s music bagged many awards like the SAMA’s and The KORA Awards, and so many others. One thing is clear, Brenda sang music for the people.
E.T Mensah, an african highlife music legend
The king of highlife… E. T Mensah was the famous Ghanian musician who played a huge role in pioneering Highlife. He started out by playing in an elementary school band and soon realized how much he liked making music. For Ghana’s independence in 1957, E. T Mensah recorded an iconic song “Ghana Freedom Highlife ”.
He regularly played in the “Tempos” band, making Highlife music that his audience fell in love with. He also played a huge role in promoting Highlife influenced by swing-jazz. This was a style of music that spread throughout West Africa like wildfire in the 1960s. Before his visit to Nigeria, Highlife was not as popular. But after he had frequented Nigeria for a couple of times, other Highlife kings like Bobby Benson were born. Safe to say, we have him to thank for Highlife.
Oliver Mtukudzi, The tuku music pioneer
One of the top 10 African music legends from Zimbabwe is a man called Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi. He was another man of many talents who played the guitar, sang, acted, and used his voice as an activist. Before his death, Oliver had a career that lasted four decades, with a total of 67 album releases. His sound was so unique that his fans began to call his style of music “Tuku Music”.
He spent most of his lifetime dedicating his voice to human rights and philanthropy. This led to being named as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2012. Even right up to Oliver’s final album before his death, he constantly spoke about what the future would look like for Zimbabwe. Yet another legend that will remain evergreen in the books of history.
King Sunny Ade, the Top juju music legend
This is an African music legend from Nigeria who was a popular Juju musician. Ade was in a band “His African Beats” which used their own style of Juju with electric guitars and percussion instruments that traveled far and wide.
King Sunny Ade is also an entrepreneur. He used the revenue generated from his early albums to start up a number of businesses like an oil firm, mining company, PR firms and so many others. The renowned King Sunny Ade Foundation was also founded in the mid-90s, a home for young performing artists from around the country. A man for the people, he made sure he paved the way for many others to find their voice just like he did.
Ali Farka Tourre, one of the top 10 african music legends from mali
We’re ending this interesting list of top 10 African music legends with a Malian singer who made a name for himself both in the entertainment space and in the political space. Tourre was a multi-instrumentalist with a phenomenal performing prowess that pushed his music far and wide. His sound was a unique blend of traditional Mali music with North American blues.
In 2004, Tourre became the mayor of Niafunke in Mali, where he served the people selflessly and consistently. Before his death, Tourre established a record label “World Circuit”, and had two Grammy awards to his name. A song he featured on was also recently used in the “Black Panther” movie.
If there’s anything consistent about this list, it’s that what makes African music great goes beyond just the sound alone. From this piece on top 10 African music legends, it is apparent that it transforms both the singers and their audience from the inside out. Serving to pave a way for us to create a continent that is better as a whole.
