The general category of "world music" covers a wide array of styles unknown to the main musical currents of the Western hemisphere. The catch-all term was first coined in the 1980s, as a way to denote traditional forms of music from the four corners of the globe - from Africa, Asia, Oceania and Northern Europe. Our overview of the genre takes you on a short trip around the world via some of its greatest artists, among them Youssou N'Dour (Senegal), Khaled (Algeria) and Tigran Hamasyan (Armenia).
More about the history of world music.
Some of the artists have yet to be sorted by musical genre. To see a complete list of artists, please browse the all the artists list.