Tiken Jah Fakoly

Political activist and reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly is a Côte d'Ivoire native, but was forced to flee the country to neighboring Mali because of Côte d'Ivoire's increasingly oppressive and anti-xenophobic government. Claiming he plays music "to wake up the consciences" and because of the straightforward concern for social and political injustice in his lyrics, Fakoly resonates with much of Africa and has thus gained a large following.