From as soon as I was old enough to buy my own CDs (and aside from the Backstreet Boys, N'Sync and Spice Girls CDs I also purchased) I dived head first into lots of music from Africa. I know, what do cheesy boy/girl bands and African music have in common...nothing. Needless to say, I was obsessed with all of the various sounds and voices from the Continent. And also needless to say, my CD collection was really random. Sally Nyolo was no exception. I followed her musical career as soon as she went solo from Zap Mama and started on her own projects in 1996. Hailing from Cameroon, her music is influenced by the bikutsi style of traditional Cameroonian music (literally means "beat the earth"). Her songs bring me back to the earth, and (similar to Zap Mama) make me realize that your voice is just as organic as the earth--popping, moving, gyrating and vibrating.
Check out Sally Nyolo's live performance of "Multiculti":