MikahelyMadagascar |1975| MalagasyBorn and raised in Madagascar, Michael Anatole Rakoto Razafy is a self-taught musician better known by his stage name Mikahely. At the young age of three, he developed a love for music, and at the age of seven, he taught himself how to play the guitar. He recorded his debut album in 1998, and it was aired across all of Madagascar. He started his band in 2005, and in 2006, he recorded his second album—the group's debut—for the first time.
Khaled aka Cheb KhaledAlgeria |1960| ArabicKhaled Hadj Ibrahim, known simply as Khaled, is an Algerian-born raï singer, songwriter, and musician. He has sold over 80.5 million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Arabic-language singers of all time. He also holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling artist of raï music. He is known for hit songs such as "Aïcha," "Didi," "El Arbi," "Abdel Kader," "La poupée qui fait non," and "C'est la vie."
Moudou Ould MattallaMauritania |1920| ArabicMoudou Ould Mattalla is a great icon and artist from Mauritania, born in the city of Chenguetti in the early 1950’s. He is considered as one of the most charming and spiritual musicians. It was in his native city that he started composing his very first titles. During his hard work moments of composition and his performances, he was accompanied by an entirely female singing group called “Al'Mouna”.
Cheikh El HasnaouiAlgeria |1920| ArabicCheikh El Hasnaoui (1910–2002) was a Berber singer born in a small town near Tizi Ouzou in Algeria. He sang Algerian chaabi music, and was, along with Slimane Azem, responsible for laying the foundations of modern popular Kabyle music in the 1950s and 1960s. He was deeply involved in Algerian music.
Abd El Gadir SalimSudan |1946| OtherSalim was born in the village of Dilling, Kordofan province, amidst the Nuba Mountains in the west of Sudan in 1946. Salim trained in both European and Arabic music at the Institute of Music in Khartoum, beginning with Oud at the behest of a friend. By 1971, he changed from composing urban-styled music to country tunes. Seeking out traditional and colloquial songs to perform, he began in his native Kordofan and Darfur. Rarely writing his own lyrics, the songs he finds range from politically aware, educational arguments to love ballads. Salim is noted for maintaining a neutral repertoire that has kept him from irritating the Islamic government of Sudan.