Foday Musa Suso (18 February 1950 – 25 May 2025) was a Gambian musician and composer.
Suso was born on 18 February 1950.[1] He was a member of theMandinka ethnic group and was agriot.[1] Griots are the oral historians and musicians of the Mandingo people who live in several west African nations.[1] Griots are a living library for the community providing history, entertainment, and wisdom while playing and singing their songs. It is an extensive verbal and musical heritage that can only be passed down within a griot family.
He was a direct descendant of Jali Madi Wlen Suso, the griot who invented thekora over four centuries ago. He spent his childhood in a traditional Gambian village, in a household filled with kora music. Though his father was a master kora player, in griot tradition, a father does not teach his own children the instrument. When Foday was nine, his father sent him to live with master kora teacher Sekou Suso in the village of Pasamasi, Wuli District. He trained with Sekou Suso until the age of 18. Suso's primary instrument was the kora, but he also played thegravikord and several other instruments.
Suso emigrated toChicago,Illinois, United States in 1977, being one of the first jalis to relocate toNorth America.[1] Once in Chicago, he formed the Mandingo Griot Society with localpercussionistsHamid Drake andAdam Rudolph,[2] which played fusion music around the world. He had performed withBill Laswell,Philip Glass,Pharoah Sanders,Jack DeJohnette,Ginger Baker,Paul Simon,Yousif Sheronick, and theKronos Quartet (Pieces of Africa). He had contributed to music for theOlympic Games in 1984[1] and 2004.
His electrified kora can also be heard on several tracks onHerbie Hancock's 1984electro-funk albumSound-System.[1] The following year, Suso and Hancock came out with another album,Village Life, that consists entirely of duets between them, Hancock on synthesizer and Suso on kora,talking drums, and vocals.
Suso died on 25 May 2025, at the age of 75.[3][4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
