Super Diamono

For almost 20 years, Super Diamono ruled the roost among the politicallly hip in Senegal. Against the conservative tradition of praise-singing, they performed what they called mbalax: a bluesy, jazzy form of rock. Their lyrics addressed charged issues such as apartheid, polygamy, and human-rights violations without flinching. The group broke up in 1991, but reassembled later in a slightly different form under the leadership of singer Omar Pene. ~ Leon Jackson