Minting Hits: Noura Mint Seymali and "Tzenni"

Accompanied by her husband on guitar, with drums and bass (played upside down by recent random tunist Ousmane Tourè, Noura Mint Seymali belts out Tzenni in today's random tune. From Mauritania, Seymali is from a long line of griots (musician, songwriter, and messenger caste in many parts of Africa). Part of this tradition is the pedigree - Seymali's mother was the equivalent of a national star and her father wrote Mauritania's national anthem. Seymali has created a sound melding traditional Moorish sounds with pop and funk, slowly stripping away the trappings and leaving something uniquely essential in the music while augmenting it with her amazing singing. Tzenni can be found on her 2014 album of the same name.