Issa Bagayogo Essentials

A ngoni player and singer who once struggled with drug addiction and drove a bus for a living, Issa Bagayogo turned his life around in the mid-‘90s after moving to Mali's capital city, Bamako. He hit on a sound that would seduce global audiences when he mixed the ngoni's earthy strains with club-ready beats and basslines. Moving effortlessly between the danceable and the chill, his songs rely heavily on electronic production, and they lend themselves easily to being remixed.