Niger is a country in western Africa which has music developed from the traditions of a mix of ethnic groups. Hausa, Beriberi, Songhai, Djerma, Dendi, Fula, Wodaabe, and Tuareg traditions, most of which existed quite independently in the colonial period, have begun to form a mixture of styles since the 1960s. While Niger's popular music has had little international attention (in comparison with the music of neighbors Mali or Nigeria), traditional and new musical styles have flourished since the end of the 1980s.
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Niger is a country in western Africa which has music developed from the traditions of a mix of ethnic groups. Hausa, Beriberi, Songhai, Djerma, Dendi, Fula, Wodaabe, and Tuareg traditions, most of which existed quite independently in the colonial period, have begun to form a mixture of styles since the 1960s. While Niger's popular music has had little international attention (in comparison with the music of neighbors Mali or Nigeria), traditional and new musical styles have flourished since the end of the 1980s. Though Tuareg music such as desert blues is often associated with Mali, there are many artists from Niger as well. Nigerien hip hop or rap Nigerien, performed in a mélange of different languages spoken in Niger, appeared at the end of the 1990s. Mamar Kassey, perhaps the best known Nigerien group outside the country, combines traditional Songhai styles and modern jazz. And the most recent rising star from Niger is the band Etran Finatawa ("the stars of tradition"), consisting of Tuareg and Wodaabe members, formed in 2004 at the Festival in the Desert.
