Mory Kanté (born 29 March 1950) is a Guinean vocalist and player of the kora harp. He is best known internationally for his 1987 hit song “Yé ké yé ké“, which reached number-one in Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, and Spain. The album it came from, Akwaba Beach, was the best-selling African record of its time. Mory Kanté was born of mixed Malian and Guinean descent, into one of Guinea’s best known families of griot (hereditary) musicians. After being brought up in the Mandinka griot tradition in Guinea, he was sent to Mali at the age of seven years – where he learned to play the kora, as well as important voice traditions, some of which are necessary to become a griot. As a Muslim, he integrated aspects of Islamic music in his work. In 1971 Kanté became a member of the Rail Band, in which Salif Keita was a singer. Keïta left the band in 1973, leaving Kanté as the singer.

In 1987, he released the song “Yé ké yé ké“, which was one of Africa’s best-ever selling hits as well as being a European number-one in 1988, making it the first ever African single to sell over one million copies.^{[citation needed]} The album it came from, Akwaba Beach, became the best-selling African record of its time. The album also featured an Islamic song, “Inch Allah”, alongside the pop hit “Yé ké yé ké”. The album also featured the song “Tama”, which inspired two Bollywood songs, “Tamma Tamma” in Thanedaar (1990) and “Jumma Chumma” in Hum (1991), the latter also featuring another song “Ek Doosre Se” which was inspired by “Inch Allah”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIaPn1Hnw4c