Brikama Griots

Malamini Jobarteh (vocals), Pa Bobo Jobarteh (kora) and Bai Jobarteh (drums) performing Kelefa Ba.
Kelefa Ba is a traditional song about a man called Kelefa Sanneh from a part of the ancient Mande empire that is now in Guinea Bissau. He came to The Gambia to fight in a war in order to prove his status as a warrior prince, and died in the process. More details of the story and the song can be found here.
www.mandebala.net/references/...
This was filmed at Jali Kunda in Brikama, The Gambia in 2006
The stringed instrument is the kora, the 21 stringed African 'harp/lute'. The drums are two djembe and a sabar.
Malamini Jobarteh passed away on 31 July 2013.
Update 20 Oct 2022
Another rendition of the Kelefa story, told by the Gambian griot Dembo Conteh and accompanied Pa Bobo Jorbateh, also filmed at Jali Kunda around the same time, can be found on this KZbin channel at
• Kelefa Ba: Dembo Conte...
Sadly Dembo Conteh passed away a few years ago. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Andy Kershaw (then of the BBC) travelled with Dembo Conteh up the R Niger to meet the late Ali Farka Toure at his home in Niafunké, ‎Mali. If you can find the broadcast, it is a fascinating journey and recording. It was this that first sparked my interest in West African music.

[@Njoofene]

My late uncle Malamin Jobarteh. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

[@whatistheevidence370]

I hope you received and carry on his stories

[@darkbluesoul]

I am american studying african music, so forgive me if I am inaccurate, but Griots are historians in the tradition of oral histories. They are amazingly accurate and carry the history of the region as well as local history, even gossip. The Kora is a 21 string harp made with a gourd, a beautiful instrument.

[@fatoumatabrenner-fatajo4315]

Yes you are right

[@manmare4080]

Exactly

[@ebrimajallow9631]

Oral history is not very accurate, but it has some history, remember they work with kings, the King would possibly try to change to story to make themselves look better.

[@charlessutton9103]

Of the Berbers. The traditional forms are 20000 years old, likely taught through call & response. This music is the Higgs Boson of western music, particularly the blues of America, traced to the Mississippi Delta, Alabama, and the Crescent City.

[@charlessutton9103]

​@@ebrimajallow9631 Wow you are so right And how was the Bible taught to the illiterate? 😮

[@pabobojobarteh748]

I thanks all of you for your kind liked and opinions and may Allah continue to have mercy on my Dad's soul and to be rest of all our departed souls Amen

[@pennineranger8820]

Salaam Alei wadji wadji, Nanga def? Hello Pa, I hope you are keeping well. Pink Toumani

[@omnaysayer]

someone save this elsewhere. this cannot be lost, not ever.

[@pinktoumani]

Actually that would be copyright theft!

[@007brama]

I already saved it and shared it on my facebook.

[@moneymule8209]

Replying nearly 10 years after it was released... I feel like i'm talking to a very wise person.

[@biddylisduff]

@@pinktoumani Seriously, there needs to be a permanent Archive of these musicians, they are so important to the history of the region. Also, a record of life in the places where the videos are recorded, everyday people passing by. The sound quality is amazing, considering they are recorded outside and so atmospheric. I am working my way through the videos, places that I visited early 1990's shown here, including Brikama and Bakau. This takes me back to first hearing Kora playing live, and meeting someone who made Kora and Djembe drums as he called them. I still have two of the drums I bought from different people in The Gambia, they are very precious to me, works of Art. Thank you for recording and sharing these important people for us to learn from.

[@Recordstak]

That's my Kora Teacher Malamini Jobarteh singing in the purple!

[@drpepperr]

Kane Mathis It is a beautiful djelaba.

[@siffaijobarteh367]

rest in peace daddy i always miss you each time i watch these tape

[@omarjobegassama]

Surely his gentle souls will rest in perfect peace till we meet him in jannah

[@siffaijobarteh367]

Thanks a lot Omar may god answers to your prayers.. Amen

[@bubatouray2149]

My blood run cool n tears falling

[@siffaijobarteh367]

I know honestly buba we lost a big thing in the family. Sometimes the family mest up there is no one to make them understand except your father may he lives long inshalla

[@siffaijobarteh367]

Tho he never gi to school but he tried a little bit to be able to say things that he wants. I think that's what matters most.R.I.P DADDY

[@proman1926]

I am so proud to know that I have roots in the Songhai empire. I am so proud to be an Africa. Griot songs tell stories from long ago to the modern times.

[@k__ber2553]

Ok

[@mansourgaye5298]

الله يرحمك يا شيخ مالامين! ذا هو الفن الحقيقي بمعناه الأصلي. أحسنت وأحسن أولادك، الله يساعدهم ويسهل لهم حمل وحفظ هذا التراث الأصيل للأجيال القادمة. آمين يا رب العالمين...

[@ignaciopena8532]

kora has kind of a healing effect, simply moving!!

[@arminmoazzezi7141]

This is a beautiful piece of art. I'm so grateful to the artists who've made it available here.

[@bobholmanpoet]

I will never forget my visit to Brikama with Papa Susso!

[@Sahelianpirate]

I miss Gambia so much !

[@pedroguadiana]

Simply beautiful. Greetings from Mexico

[@TheDustyWilk]

griots were the forerunners to hip-hop! sounds weird right? But the tradition of oral history sang over music was passed on to Jamaican musicians, who utilized this in dancehall music, which eventually found its way to south bronx. the rest is history.

[@Codi892]

It's not just a jamaican thing. In the African America community its called signifying or the signifying monkey. Where you make clever rhymes that sometimes have double meanings.

[@lebaolbaoltigui2599]

la maniere dont le vieux calme les ardeurs de sa femme et la retenir dans le rythme à suivre, est pleine d'elegance........ses enfants qui suivent le geste, sourient....Ce n'est pas griot qui veut...

[@karambisto]

mon cher ami tu à tout vu

[@lebaolbaoltigui2599]

+Karamba Cisse MandeMori , abegnadi ? cortantè ? jaajeuff waay ,......

[@biraneniang9316]

bien dit,ya dégue copain

[@pinktoumani]

It's called a kora - the 21 stringed West African 'harp-lute' of the Mande (aka Mandinka, Mandingo and Malinke) ethnic group played by members of one of the four Jali or Griot (hereditary musician) families: Kuyate, Jobarteh (or Djiabate), Suso (or Cissoko) and Konte (or Conte/Conteh). The drum which looks a bit like a conga is actually a Sabarro (Mandinka drum) or a Sabar which is a drum belonging to the Wollof ethnic group of Senegal/Gambia

[@TheHijabfatima]

pinktoumani everything is correct but the mandinka drum is called tang tangu

[@hayden9322]

Thx

[@AB-yj9kg]

Mind blown

[@cloiruetil-hugoaudier6370]

Do you know what the text is about ?

[@bambamass9550]

Rest in perfect peace daddy may Allah give you Jannatul fidrasu

[@babilimanssa843]

Ne perdez pas cette tradition, c'est l'Afrique que vous détenez a travers ces mélodies !

[@moneymule8209]

3:49 official lyrics: *Bacon fatty* *Bacon fatty* *tell ya auntie bacon fattty* *what is bacon fatty?* *America.* Enough said. This man is a true artist.

[@opium1250]

💀😭😭😭

[@moneymule8209]

@@opium1250 man I have no idea how I got to this song years ago, I don't understand anything they are saying but I loved listening to it anyways

[@johnmclean8167]

To the roots! I'm not a musicologist, just a drunk bastard tryna hear some sick local music. (Yes, I understand this is where rock n' roll started.) Telling stories and wailin...

[@gabrielvasto]

The kora is an absolute beast of an instrument

[@BabatheStoryteller]

What a beautiful rendition of Kelefaba! Thanks for posting this.

[@johncrowley1203]

My greetings to Siffai. Greatly saddened to hear of your father's passing, he was one of the finest human beings I have ever met. My best wishes to you and your family.

[@CoeurSen1987]

toujours plaisant de s'évader sur ces musiques qui me font voyager.... merci!!!

[@lisanoel7529]

they got some music there

[@mahagonyprincemahagony3793]

respect and love from SUDAN 😍

[@kankamoussa1957]

Thank you from England.

[@mahagonyprincemahagony3793]

@@kankamoussa1957 You're most welcome dear

[@onirofficial7540]

Origini del Rap ! Commuovente! Respect!

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Tout le corps, toutes parties du corps, puissance

[@amsterdanjah]

good song, ALLAH 'U AKBAR, i'm glad to see it, n' feell my african roots singing so beatyfull, tnx 4 post!!! HAUSA BRASIL!!!

[@playevolucion364]

El origen de lo que conocemos como Hip Hop.

[@Sahelianpirate]

y del blues/jazz

[@eldiablo.8069]

I am trying to learn the roots of rap and this is great

[@marcussfebruary9104]

Swim through African music my brother.

[@bluesmusicandwhatnot2845]

@Benjamin Ornelas Flyting was a contest of insulting that was sometimes delivered poetically, not in a rhythmic manner over music. Furthermore, there is nothing historically connecting rap to flyting. Rapping, which developed from "emceeing" in the late 1970s, has stronger roots in Jamaican toasting, which in itself has roots in West African griot traditions, such as praise singing and spoken word delivery styles.

[@Codi892]

@Benjamin Ornelas lol no the fuck it didn't

[@edena2058]

Same for I am teaching music and want to teach to my students the link between this and rap music.

[@kobbybold9814]

@@bluesmusicandwhatnot2845 the people who starting toasting said they got it from listening to American radio disc jockeys.

[@Spritofjazz]

This is absolutely amazing

[@aydepatricialunacalderon4330]

No conocía nada de estas costumbres africanas me parece bien bello aunque no entiendo nada por aquello del idioma, aquí en Colombia también tenemos nuestras contadoras de historias y también es muy bello.

[@amberessencemyrrha9809]

This is just Amazing Flowing Beautiful!!!! 🌷🌷🌷🌷

[@ZDKzap]

really beautiful performance, thank you for sharing this

[@down2earthjarju230]

Allihamdullahe greatly appreciated it our home culture 🙏🙏🙏📿📿 may almighty Allah protections and guidance us all Amin Amin Amin Amin Amin Amin 💙💙💙

[@jemjem1317]

Gran respeto del seños en como le dio la clave para quevla ejecutara wooo !!!

[@laminekouyate8832]

J'apprécie beaucoup cette prestation ❤❤❤❤

[@zoumountchimusic]

THE KORA WAS AN INSTRUMENT USED BY MALIBERO TO OPEN A WAY TO FREE THE HUMAN OF LAKE OF BALANCE TO FIND LOVE, TO GIVE MORE AND RECEIVE LESS AND BE BLESS

[@mobutuseseseko2989]

best African song

[@supergamehead2727]

Great music! I'm coming back soon brikama! Danny dabba

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Tu réveil les ancêtres. Tu es bon

[@kingbuba5263]

RIP grast father

[@victorherrera945]

No entiendo prácticamente nada pero siento afinidad a los ritmos, a los tonos de voces y al bello sonido del instrumento de cuerdas que desconozco por completo. Muy interesante

[@bitasnsons]

A veces no necesitamos entender. La música, aunque no convencional, se basta por sí solaes. Yo tampoco entiendo el idioma y soy de africa occidental.

[@artispain]

boy is this beautiful

[@prapicella]

Thank you from NJ. amazing rhythm, magical sound.

[@coolhype]

One of the BEST videos EVER on KZbin! F'real!

[@addyla7200]

Blues and rap music come from Africa, indeed!

[@gemstoneskingdom1944]

SOULar..... Beautiful... Asé !

[@frkntml]

Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@deborahtouchette6165]

This is so cool, it our song the Nyanchors which are the Mannehs and the Sannehs

[@kareneverett125]

Love this !!!!

[@Anochrist]

rediculously beautiful

[@TreyPDB]

beat was 🔥 no modern producers can even emulate this

[@Zovalista]

electric effect through my body, awesome

[@mandinka323]

Ali ning baara, ali ning ke, jatoolu!!! Ali yaa kata le. Nying diyaabata le ali la kango, ali la kora aning djembe kosoo bee ka diyaa le.

[@ChefJoannaAlexis]

Amazing!!!

[@crownites]

NATURAL AFRIKAN MYSTIC......

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Allah barka

[@ousmanbahousmanbah9729]

I love this

[@tokatasrapchile]

Creo que estoy a un buen nivel de investigación propia, sobre el entendimiento de la raíz del Hip Hop (Sobre todo del Rap) y otros géneros como el Jazz. Es increíble, alucinante; el ir descubriendo poco a poco, desde el punto de vista de la antítesis; su variedad y la filosofía de la historia musical. Saludos desde Chile

[@jean-paulheuga6360]

C'est très beau.

[@drazankornet145]

. . Salia - so beautyfull

[@Rorodrigue]

very cool, like it. le genie musical

[@ragazzi25]

beautiful music!

[@user-gy6js7qe2x]

This is a medieval blues

[@Risingsun294]

Roots of Ny hip hop

[@zzzwy777]

Far out.I love it.

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Puissant

[@zzzwy777]

Outstanding.

[@nchant]

this is amazing

[@lancinekeita468]

Alu ni ke! Thanks.

[@evucia]

awesome!!

[@louangeturner3521]

That's the beginning of music

[@TheJakedead]

hermosoo

[@bassisay4392]

Wonders

[@yessicallanquimanr.966]

Esta súper bueno

[@oeterke]

Great!

[@frankfitzpatrick1568]

Are the people Griots, Jali? Wonderful music!

[@MrBah-tw3gt]

Yes

[@sususze]

they are very cool!

[@guydechalus4561]

sususze it’s the motherland of cool.

[@balluduku]

Yes.

[@profondeville]

O ! Pays ....Oh ! beau peuple du Djoloff..........

[@joaoflavio5966]

Muito Legal

[@seemapatel981]

Wow

[@argybarg]

@Doleafol I think the confusion here is that this is presented as just a random street scene, the sort of thing you see everywhere in this part of the world. Actually, these are high-level and celebrated musicians in their culture - notice the related videos for Pa Bobo Jobarteh. This is not the equivalent to, say, people on a porch in Appalachia fiddling and picking the banjo or a busker in the subway station. But I agree that your original comment had only a good intent.

[@user-vw2jq3to5e]

Great comment.

[@eddyc4603]

And rock'n'roll. Lots in common with celtic and northern European music, too? Folk and a lot of classical... You could even get into a fair bit of South-East Asian / Japanese music. Stuff doesn't end. Not sure if simply common roots thoooousands of years ago with a lot of back and forth since then... At some point there is also something "sacred" to it, bound to be or borderline inevitable? As in... This just makes our hearts and bodies vibrate and would have come out, one way or another... By the way, it works with birds, too! Any sort of kora and Malian music - look out for birds chipping alongside outside - not kidding. Talk about universal.

[@user-kw1ho3ti9y]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@MrSpanky87]

this is so cool - wish i could understand :(

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Doux et patient

[@hikhalem5305]

São Miguel Quixeramobim Ceará

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Vraie Real renois

[@sillahsillah225]

nice

[@draconite]

that's a fuckin sweet riff

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Début jusqu'à la fin

[@Tschaggat]

The griot tries to guid the woman but it seems to be too difficult:D

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Un appel

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

Black wall street 💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡

[@yehru]

Google "Kelefa Ba traditional kora song" - there is a rough translation online.

[@user-rd8xn9ij6j]

Интересно как называется большой струнный инструмент справа? Красиво он звучит.

[@user-bi7cv4so8q]

On rit encore