Oumou Sangare - Oumou (2003)

http://www.mediafire.com/?4z85n5ay18lc6vr

man what can be said about this.. Oumou Sangare is a Malian wassoulou musician, who started being recognized for her singing around the age of 5, taking after her sweet ol mother, another well known wassoulou singer. Wassoulou is actually a region south of the Niger River rather than a type of music, the 'genre' name is from what comes from out there, traditionally jams made out to be hunting and/or celebration songs. This stuff is surprisingly well put together, relaxing to listen to, and even though you can't understand a word it always seems to feel as though there's meaning behind it all. Oh and there is. Turns out this chick is all about women's rights, so almost every song is trying to advocate the issue, whether it be exploring love and freedom in marriage, or refuting polygamy, abuse, or children being forced into arranged marriages.
The thing is though, the songs range from being upbeat and even groovable :

To something soulful and sad in an instant:

Either way it stays incredible the whole way through. Aren't you glad the sad souls got over their nostalgia and hype to bring yall something original? If there's just one regular visitor out there he's effectively having his mind blown right now haha.