http://www.kasiisiproject.org/playlists/AfricaSeptember2006.htm

1. Wasis Diop (Senegal) - Raï M'bele - 3:42
Wasis Diop is among the most international of African musicians and songwriters. He has collaborated with the singer Amina of Tunisia, Japan's Shimizu, singer Marie-France Anglade of Madagascar, Lokua Kanza of Congo DRC, and many others. He has also written a considerable body of film music, including a track for the 1999 movie The Thomas Crown Affair. Here is a photo.

2. Henri Dikongué (Cameroon) - Awale - 3:41
Characterized by reviewers as elegant, soulful, swaying, cool, lyrical and jazzy, Henri Dikongué presents a quiet and introspective alternative to much of African popular music. This song is from his fourth album.

3. Zuba (Liberia, Uganda, Scotland) - Kuwa - 3:11
Zuba's vocalists are mainly from Liberia and Uganda, while their instrumentalists are mainly from Scotland and France.

4. Cheikh Lô (Senegal, Burkina Faso) - Set - 5:29
From Spirit of Africa. Listeners and reviewers consistently sense mystical and religious strains in Cheikh Lô's music. This song is about environmental awareness and health.

5. Idrissa Soumaoro (Mali) - Safi - 5:51
This Calabash review traces Soumaoro's rise to prominence in Malian music. From liner notes for the album Köte from which this song comes: "God is forgiveness. Safiatou who has gone far away, far from the person he loves, would certainly accept his forgiveness for all the wrongs he has committed during the trials of love. Safi is the name of a girl."

6. Thomas Mapfumo (Zimbabwe) - Kuvarira Mukati - 7:09
The song title means "suffer in silence" and the song says that people must not remain silent but must stand up, speak, and fight. Thomas Mapfumo has been called the voice of African liberation and the Lion of Zimbabwe. He lives now in exile in Oregon. Here is an NPR review.

7. Eneida Marta (Guinea-Bissau) - N’Pirdi Coragem - 4:22
A wonderful voice from a very small country. Here are a review and a photo on RootsWorld.

8. Frères Guissé (Senegal) - Fouta - 4:10
From Spirit of Africa. Tight and lively harmonies from the three Guissé brothers. Here is their home page. Their Fouta homeland, a semi-arid region of northern Senegal, is regarded as the source location of Islam in Senegal.

9. Khadja Nin (Burundi) - Sambolera Mayi Son - 4:31
From Spirit of Africa. This is the title song from the 1996 album by the dramatic duo of Khadja and Nicolas Fiszman. Their website is interesting and includes lyrics for all their songs. They appear to be based in Hamburg now.

10. Rachel Magoola (Uganda) - Gwendayira - 6:45
Formerly the lead singer of the legendary Ugandan group The Afrigo Band, Rachel Magoola now sings solo. For years she taught music at a primary teachers' school in Kaliro, east of the capital Kampala, near the city of Jinja and the source of the Nile River. Here is her page on Calabash.

11. Ismaël Lô (Senegal) - Tadieu Bone - 4:23
From Spirit of Africa. Ismaël Lô is 50 years old this year. Here is a short but excellent Wikipedia article.