Salif Keita may be a direct descendant of Malian royalty dating back to the 13th century, but he sure as hell got teased a lot as a kid. Keita is an albino, something seriously looked down upon in West African societies. As such he lost the privileged status that he inherited with his royal blood and had to fend for himself, slipping down the caste ladder to become pretty much a griot.

Lucky for us. Salif Keita turned to music as a voice against his abusers and the Malian politicians he hates so much. Playing gigs around Bamako in he 70s he was quickly recognized as a big talent and started playing with the famous Rail Band. His career flowered with the Rail Band and later with Les Ambassadeurs (Internationales). He was soon recognized as one of Mali’s, if not West Africa’s, premier crooners.

2002′s Moffou was sort of a comeback album for Keita. While I’m not a huge fan of all of his stuff – some of it’s a bit cheesy to be honest – he has some solid tracks. One of them is below, as found on Moffou.

ps- I just read that this song was written by Keita when he was alone on an island and dreaming of an imaginary female companion. Maybe I understood Bambara for a second when I picked it this morning. Love to my not-so-imaginary K over there on that island of Manhattan..

Salif Keita – Ana na ming