''Amen'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Malian artist

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Biography Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...

, released in 1991 by

Mango Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. The album reached No. 1 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

World Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart.

Overview

Amen was produced by Joe Zawinul.

Critical reception

Amen was

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated in the category of

Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

Track listing

#"Yele n Na" #"Waraya" #"Tono" #"Kuma" - Speak #"Nyanafi" - Nostalgia #"Karifa" #"N B'I Fe" - I love you #"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 A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

Nyanafi

Nyanafi means

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

, 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

1991 albums Salif Keita albums Mango Records albums {{1990s-pop-album-stub