Oumou Sangare: Seya

SO WHY, with more than 50 African countries to choose from, do we keep returning to the music of Mali? Surely there must be other countries on the continent with an equally viable and vibrant musical culture? How about South Africa, which brought us Miriam Makeba? Or Ethiopia, which spawned those reissue albums of music from the 1970s that were culled for the bestselling compilation, The Very Best of Éthiopiques? Or Kenya, which currently has a clutch of very strong hip-hop artists? Why do we keep returning to Mali?