The Accidental Expatriate
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By the time they’d scraped together enough to return, six months later, he and many others had decided to remain in Chicago. The contract for Kouyate’s weekly radio program, which was his main source of income in Senegal, had been canceled because he’d been away so long. Returning to Senegal would mean starting over, he figured, so he might as well do it here.
Kouyate is a common surname of the jalis, a musician caste in the Mandinka society of western Africa. Until the French ended kingships at the dawn of the 20th century, jalis played exclusively for kings, using song to praise their lineage and prowess in battle and even to arbitrate during disputes. Their gorgeous keening was accompanied by the sweet, percussive tones of the kora.
Kouyate says living in Chicago has changed his style. Although it’s hard to discern if you’re not fluent in African music, he says he’s absorbed Western pop styles into his playing. “Audiences here listen to the music differently….They listen for beats, and if you’re playing this instrument unaccompanied they have a hard time finding a beat in the music.” He usually plays with a percussionist for this reason. And lyrically Kouyate’s songs have grown less Africa-specific: the album opener, “Ali Nyo Kano,” for example, is a meditation on universal love. “Not love as sex,” he says, “but love inside your heart for family and friends.”
