As “golden-voiced” as his sobriquet advertises, Keita arose in the late ’70s as one of West African pop’s two great modernists. Both Keita in Mali and his Senegalese counterpart Youssou N’Dour remade their scene’s music in their image; both partnered with white musicians to record partly successful rock fusions in the ’80s. But where N’Dour has recorded prolifically in the years since with a broad range of collaborators, even opening his own studio, Keita’s output has been sparse. His 2019 album, Un Autre Blanc, was his first in nearly a decade. And since Keita doesn’t make it to the U.S. much—this will be his first Minneapolis show since 2017—classic Afropop connoisseurs might even undervalue him a smidgen now. That’d be silly of them. His is a voice worth luxuriating in, and since he’ll be 73 by the time he makes it to town, probably worth taking the opportunity now. —KEITH HARRIS
Salif Keita
RACKET SUMMER CONCERT PICK