If you’re ever in downtown Bamako, you might encounter the Hotel Wassoulou. Owned and run by Oumou Sangaré, the place takes its name from the region in southern Mali from where she originates ...

T.S. Eliot once said that poetry is “felt before it is understood,” and that is how I approach musicians like Oumou Sangaré ... have been the framework for Sangare’s birdsong since 1989 ...