How Do I
African Music
African music can be very difficult to find in the library because it is not generally listed in the Catalog under "African music." It is usually listed by the type of music first, such as "folk songs" or "popular music," then divided by country. It can also be listed under a particular ethnic group, such as "Yoruba" or "Baka," or by the specific type of music, such as "juju music" or "balo music." The following is a guide to searching for African music the library catalog. At the bottom of this page is a selection of African music CDs including both traditional music and pop that might be of interest to you.
New! Almost 2000 tracks of music from Africa can be found on Smithsonian Global Sound. This streaming audio website includes recordings from the Smithsonian Folkways label and the International Library of African Music. Access is available in the library or remotely with a valid Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh card.
Searching the Catalog for African Music
The best way to find CDs of African music is to use the ADVANCED KEYWORD search, which lets you get a large number of CDs in one broad search. Or, if you are looking for something more specific but don't know the name of a specific performer, you can also use the ADVANCED KEYWORD search to specify what you want with words or phrases.
To make sure you get CDs only, choose "Music CDs" from the Material Type drop down menu.
Examples:African music
Type: music and africa*music from Ghana
Type: music and ghanaWest African pop music
Type: popular music and west and africa*African drumming
Type: africa* and (drum* or percussion)
(NOTE: In the Catalog, the asterisk * is used as a wildcard. A search for drum* would return hits for drum, drums, drumming, etc. or Africa* retrieves both Africa and African.)
Another way to find African music CDs is to browse the catalog with a general SUBJECT SEARCH. That will get you a list of subjects, where you can click on the one that interests you. From there you can either look for the CD icon on the right side of the list, or choose the "Limit/Sort Search" button from the menu at the top of the screen.
| You can start with one of the following subjects: | This will allow you to browse, looking for subjects such as: |
| folk music |
Folk music --Africa, West Folk music --Zululand (South Africa) |
| folk dance music |
Folk dance music --Cameroon |
| folk songs | Folk songs, Akan --Ghana |
| popular music | Popular music --Africa, West |
|
popular instrumental music |
Popular instrumental music --South Africa |
|
music (this is very broad, try the other subjects first) |
Music -- Ethiopia |
Always keep in mind while you are searching that Africa is made up of many countries and numerous ethnic groups, so if you can, be specific. The following lists may help in reminding you of some of the countries and ethnic groups you can search:
Return to the topSelected Countries
(for a nice map use The Africa Guide Map of Africa)
| Algeria Angola Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde |
Central African Republic Congo Egypt Ethiopia Gambia Ghana Guinea |
Kenya Libya Madagascar Mali Morocco Niger Nigeria |
Senegal South Africa Sudan Tanzania Togo Uganda Zimbabwe |
Selected Ethnic Groups
(There are over 800 ethnic groups in Africa; use The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, v.1-Africa or The Garland Handbook of African Music for background information on the music of Africa to help with more specific searching.)
The following African peoples are represented in the CD collection of the music department and can be found by keyword searching in the Catalog:
| Ajjer (Tuareg) Aka Akan Amhara Baka |
Dagaaba Ewe Gade Lobi Mandingo |
Mbuti Shona Yoruba Zulu |
Selected African Music CDs
The following lists are a selection of CDs that you can find in the Music, Film & Audio collection. We have divided them into 2 lists.
The first is more traditional or folk music (for lack of better terms) and includes field recordings. For more music of this type be sure to also check the streaming audio database Smithsonian Global Sound.
The second list showcases African music with more of a Western influence (including electric instruments, drumsets, funk beats, etc.) that we're calling popular music (also for lack of better terms).
Please click on the individual titles to check for availability.
Traditional, Folk and Field Recordings
More Traditional, Folk and Field Recordings:
Nonesuch Explorer Series
| ARTIST / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Africa: music from the Nonesuch Explorer series | If Afr 27407 |
| Burkina Faso: Savannah Rhythms | If Bur 27839 |
| Burundi: Music from the Heart of Africa | If Bur 27851 |
| East Africa: Ceremonial & Folk Music | If Eas 27430 |
| East Africa: Witchcraft & Ritual Music | If Eas 27835 |
| El Din, Hamza Escalay - The Water Wheel: Oud Music | If El 26869 |
| Ghana: Ancient Ceremonies, Songs & Dance Music | If Gha 5505 |
| Zimbabwe: Shona Mbira Music | If Zim 26870 |
| Zimbabwe: the African Mbira: Music of the Shona People | If Zim 27883 |
| Zimbabwe: the Soul of Mbira: Traditions of the Shona People | If Zim 27882 |
Electrified Pop Music and More
| ARTIST / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Acquaye, Saka Ghana: Voices of Africa: High-life and Other Popular Music | If Acq 27865 |
| Ahmed, Mahmoud Almaz (Ethiopiques 6) | If Ahm 38452 |
| Amadou & Mariam The Magic Couple | If Ama 35806 |
| Boyoyo Boys Back in Town | If Boy 4206 |
| Buthelezi, Mzikayifani Fashion Maswedi | If But 4627 |
| Buzz 'n' Rumble from the Urb 'n' Jungle | If Buz 25514 |
| Congo 70: Rumba Rock (African Pearls) | If Con 36565 |
| Diabate, Toumani Djelika | If Dia 25331 |
| Ekemode, Orlando Julius Super Afro Soul with Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces | If Eke 39235 |
| Electric Highlife: Sessions from the Bokoor Studios | If Ele 28476 |
| (Ethiopiques 1) Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music, 1969-1975 | If Eth 25306 |
| (Ethiopiques 3) Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music, 1969-1975 | If Age 25958 |
| (Ethiopiques 4) Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974 | Jz Eth 26084 |
| (Ethiopiques 13) Ethiopian Groove: Golden Seventies | If Eth 38454 |
| Etran Finatawa Desert Crossroads | If Etr 34054 |
| Fela Best of Fela Kuti | If Fel 25220 |
| Fela Lagos Baby: 1963/69 | If Fel 34680 |
| Franco Franco | If Fra 26272 |
| Ghana Soundz: Afro-beat, Funk, and Fusion in 70's Ghana | If Gha 26661 |
| Golden Afrique. Vol. 1 | If Gol 26023 |
| Golden Afrique. Vol. 2 | If Gol 32982 |
| Golden Afrique. Vol. 3 | If Gol 29885 |
| Guinée 70: The Discotheque Years (African Pearls) | If Gui 37892 |
| Highlife | If Hig 20601 |
| Kante, Mory Akwaba Beach | If Kan 2375 |
| Keita, Salif Best of Salif Keita: The Golden Voice | If Kei 28341 |
| Kuti, Femi The Definitive Collection | If Kut 31881 |
| Ladysmith Black Mambazo Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo | If Lad 11194 |
| Mali 70: Electric Mali (African Pearls) | If Mal 37986 |
| Mali lolo! Stars of Mali | If Mal 23226 |
| The Mbira - Tales of the Mbira: Fusions (Modern & Ancient) | If Mbi 38837 |
| N'Dour, Youssou Youssou N'Dour & Etoile de Dakar | If NDo 27532 |
| Olatunji, Babatunde Drums of Passion | If Ola 38956 |
| Olatunji, Babatunde Drums of Passion: the Beat | If Ola 10138 |
| Olatunji, Babatunde Drums of Passion: the Invocation | If Ola 9372 |
| Orchestra Baobab Made in Dakar | If Orc 34057 |
| Orchestra Baobab Specialist in All Styles | If Orc 19666 |
| Orchestra Ethiopia Orchestra Ethiopia (Ethiopiques 23) | If Orc 38451 |
| Pont Sur le Congo (African Pearls) | If Pon 37891 |
| Putumayo Presents North African groove | If Put 34006 |
| Putumayo Presents South African legends | If Put 17680 |
| Radio Algeria | If Rad 32227 |
| Radio Morocco | If Rad 31875 |
| Rochereau, Tabu Ley The Voice of Lightness: Congo Classics 1961-1977 | If Ley 32623 |
| Roots of Rumba Rock: Congo Classics 1953-1955 | If Roo 32226 |
| Sénégal 70: Musical Effervescence (African Pearls) | If Sen 36264 |
| Sénégal: Écho Musical (African Pearls) | If Sen 37993 |
| Taylor, Ebo Life Stories: Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973-1980 | If Tay 38906 |
| Tinariwen Aman Iman: Water is Life | If Tin 31939 |
| Toure, Ali Farka In the Heart of the Moon | If Tou 25518 |
| Tout Puissant Likembe Konono No. 1 de Mingiedi Konono No. 1 | If Tou 25334 |
| Tout Puissant Likembe Konono No. 1 de Mingiedi Live at Coeleur Café | If Tou 32094 |
| Tout Puissant Likembe Konono No. 1 de Mingiedi Lubuaku | If Tou 32093 |
| The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria | If Wor 38146 |
Want to know more? Ask a librarian.
