Guinean singer Mory Kante, who helped introduce African music to a world audience in the 1980s, has died in the capital Conakry, his family said. He was 70.
“Guinea and the whole world have lost a great personality,” Kante’s son Balla Kante told The Associated Press on Friday. “My father was a great personality. We lost a large library today.”
Balla said his father had not been feeling well for quite some time, adding that he will be tested for COVID-19.
Kante is best known for his dance song Yeke Yeke, which was a huge hit in Africa before becoming a number-one hit in several European countries in 1988.
Nicknamed the “electronic griot” – a play on the name for traditional West African musicians and storytellers – Kante died in hospital after succumbing to untreated health problems.
Born into a celebrated family of griots, Kante played guitar, the kora harp and
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