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Sona Jobarteh — Jarabi
Album: Fasiya
Avg rating:
6.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 623









Released: 2011
Length: 5:01
Plays (last 30 days): 0
(lyrics not available)
Comments (16)add comment
Wonderfully joyous and bouncy. I wonder if being able to understand the words would destroy its magic, like with most "World" music?
Wonderful. 
Saw her last night on 60 minutes (CBS, 2022 11 13).  Great sound and a great story.  This can't be a coincidence, can it?
Unknown to me, but I could decidedly become a fan.  Thank you for the message below. Learning the context of a song always helps me to understand it.
Most Kora songs are very formal and connected with some piece of history and cultural root of Mende tradition. Jarabi is an exception. Jarabi (meaning "Beloved") is among the most popular of Kora songs. Composed shortly after the independence of the Mali Federation -- now divided as Senegal, Gambia and Mali -- Jarabi was meant to capture the new national spirit of renaissance. The government supported a return to traditional arts and cultural expressions of the many people of the region. In this new environment, Jarabi was born.  It remains the single most popular Kora piece to date. When the French were forced to leave they offered Mali the option of remaining a commonwealth under the French system. The people, traumatized the brutality of French occupation, wanted complete independence. Infuriated, Charles Du Gaulle order the country stripped of everything. Buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. The people found themselves with far less than what they had before colonization and have been recovering ever since. Composed in this time, Jarabi is a love song which, like most African love songs from this period, is intended as a metaphor for the love of the country, its culture, and its people. During colonial times, such love songs would be infused with messages through metaphors meant to enjoin the beleaguered with hope and resolve.

-FB post by Sarah le Kali on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Another new-to-me RP find 

Lovely playing, vocals and djembe playing to melt my fingers!!!
If you like the Kora, (the string instrument) check out Toumani Diabate - all Kora instrumentals. 
Great respect for this brave and talented woman. Being a first female professional kora player is a big step in world of music.
Sorry to disappoint, but she was born in London and studied at the Royal College of Music on London - so, while I fully agree with your statement that there is great music everywhere, in this case the musical foundation and education in London cannot be denied. It does not take away from her great African heritage and her skill.

 
philbertr wrote:
Proof that there is great music and great musicians all over the world and not just in LA, NYC or London
 

Proof that there is great music and great musicians all over the world and not just in LA, NYC or London
(instrumental) :D
 the_jake wrote:
Giving it a 6 on first listen.
 
Gave a five but will rise
Can someone get this uploaded on Tidal. Absolutely great addition to my world music collection! 
Creative fun- in the tininkling style!
Giving it a 6 on first listen.

Upping my rating to a 7. 
The song is growing on me now after 2 years.
I love this artist, very good musician and singer. Gambia !