As a major fan of international football, I’ve been completely enthralled by the World Cup of 2018. To my eyes, this was the most exciting World Cup in recent memory (I really began paying close attention in 1994), and even without the big names making through to the later rounds, the drama has been excellent. France played exceptionally all the way through and were rewarded with their 4-2 victory today. As was the case 20 years ago, this victory will be celebrated throughout the country, but as many have noted, one of the undeniable qualities of this team is how many players have direct connections back to Africa. The breakout stars, Mbappé, Pogba, Kante, trace their ancestry to Africa, and also spent time in the Paris suburbs or Banlieues, the highly segregated, and often marginalized urban spaces that are predominately filled with immigrants, black/brown folk and the poor. For those of us in the African Diaspora, the Pan-Africanness of this French team has given us something to cheer about as well. And so, while I could have thrown up some French music, sung in French, I made a conscious decision to celebrate this win with music from a former colony of France, Mali (a country that where I hear there are a number of fans of the greatest team in the world, FC Barcelona…my kind of place).
The Super Rail Band Orchestre Du Buffet Hôtel De La Gare De Bamako, generally known as simply The Rail Band, recorded some of Mali’s funkiest music in the 1970s, and “Mouodilo,” is perhaps their funkiest tune, one of my all-time favorites out of Africa and a song that no only works well on virtually dancefloor, but just sounds like a good party. The celebration in sound is one that I’m sure will be experienced all over the world after the victory of this team, a team that may not fix all of the problems of French/Global society, but that has provided some fantastic inspiration over the past month.