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Amen
Studio album by Salif Keita
Released	1991
Recorded	1991
Genre	World worldbeat
Length	43:50
Language	Malinké
Label	Mango
Producer	Joe Zawinul
Salif Keita chronology
Ko-Yan (1989) Amen (1991) Destiny of a Noble Outcast (1991)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	A

Amen is the third studio album by Malian artist Salif Keita, released in 1991 by Mango Records. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard World Albums chart.

Overview

Amen was produced by Joe Zawinul.

Critical reception

Amen was Grammy nominated in the category of Best World Music Album.

Fred Sushter of DownBeat wrote in 1992: "Amen is destined to be a world music classic, perhaps the first disc of its type to realize the potential of African sophistication and Western knowhow. It has been called the Aja of world beat, a reference to the shimmering Steely Dan album of the same name."

Track listing

1. "Yele n Na"
2. "Waraya"
3. "Tono"
4. "Kuma" - Speak
5. "Nyanafi" - Nostalgia
6. "Karifa"
7. "N B'I Fe" - I love you
8. "Lony" - Knowledge

Kuma

If you drop a child you can catch it, but if a word is out you cannot catch it anymore. One has to learn to speak, if you do not believe ask a lawyer. One has to learn to speak, if you do not believe this ask a griot.

Nyanafi

Nyanafi means nostalgia, and the song is about the importance of life. If you think you will buy a car, if the death comes you will forget it. If you think you will buy an airplane, if the death comes you will forget it. If you see a young boy in his death clothes you will know that life is nothing. If you see a young girl in her death clothes you will know that life is nothing. If you are complaining, and you remember that image of the young boy, it will calm you down.

Lony

Lony means knowledge. All depends on the knowledge to do something.

References

1. Greenburg, Adam. "Salif Keita: Amen". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
2. Burr, Ty (August 30, 1991). "Amen". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly.
3. ^ Salif Keita: Amen. Mango Records. 1991.
4. "Salif Keita: Amen (World Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
5. "Salif Keita". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
6. Sushter, Fredq (June 1992). "Joe Zawinul: Groove Gangster". DownBeat. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

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