Afropop Worldwide

Our program, The Enigma of Baba Sora, may raise more questions for some than it answers. If so, you may join the ranks of those still searching for the deeper story of this mysterious man. On the legal front, one place to start is with Jim DeFede’s 1998 Miami New Times article “Baba’s Big Bucks.” Banning Eyre’s book In Griot Time contains some good background, including the author’s complete interview with Baba Sora, and the answer to the question: “Did Baba ever give him money?” (Sorry. You'll have to read the book.) Banning Eyre's conversation with musicologist Lucy Duràn, published with this playlist, is fascinating. There are a number of articles and obituaries online, although they don’t add a lot of substance to these sources.

Here we offer a few videos that take you a little deeper into the experience, beginning with a grand sumu (griot gathering) held in Baba Sora’s hometown of Dabia in November 1997, upon his return from house arrest in Miami.

Amy Koita’s song “Baba Sora.”

Here’s a video report on the Dubai adventure from Weird World.

Here’s a deeper dive from the BBC Arabic service, mostly in Arabic, but with some English and French interviews with important players, including Baba Sora.

And finally, Balla Tounkara serenades Baba Sora in 2018.