This is a list of influential African

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Guitarists

* Ibrahim Ag Alhabib - guitarist of the band

Tinariwen Tinariwen (Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's guita ...

* Barthelemy Attisso - lead guitarist of Orchestre Baobab, of Senegal *

Afel Bocoum Afel Bocoum (born 1955) is a musician from Mali, noted as a singer and guitarist. He began his career as a member of Ali Farka Touré's group ASCO, and Toure is often regarded as his mentor. Both men come from the town of Niafunke on the River Ni ...

- Malian guitarist, Ali Farka Touré's noted protégé * Omara "Bombino" Moctar - internationally acclaimed Tuareg guitarist and singer-songwriter from Agadez, Niger *

Henri Bowane Henri Bowane (1926–1992) was an influential figure in the development of Congolese rumba in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was the first professional boss and early mentor to the legendary guitarist Franco Luambo.

- a figure in the development of Congo rumba, early mentor to Franco * Oliver De Coque - Ogene Sound Super of Africa * Victor Démé - Singer and guitarist from

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Fatoumata Diawara Fatoumata Diawara ( bm, ߝߊ߫ߕߎߡߕߊ ߖߊ߯ߥߙߊ߫, Fatumta Jawara, born 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France. Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), '' Sia, T ...

- Malian guitarist and singer *

Diblo Dibala Diblo Dibala (born 9 August 1954), often known simply as Diblo, is a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese soukous musician, known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the guitar. He was born in 1954 in Kisangani. He moved to Kinsh ...

- Congolese

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

musician, known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the guitar * Mamadou Diop (also known as Modou Diop) - Senegalese rhythm guitarist, now based in the United States *

Sona Jobarteh Sona Jobarteh (born 1983) is a Gambian multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer. She is from one of the five principal kora-playing griot families of West Africa, and is the first female professional kora player to come from a griot family. S ...

- Griot

kora Kora may refer to: Places India * Kora, Bardhaman, West Bengal * Kora, Bharuch, Gujarat * Korha, Katihar, also known as Kora, in Bihar * Kora, Kendrapara, Odisha * Kora, Wardha, Maharastra * Kora, Tumakuru, Karnataka * Toyaguda, Adilabad, Telan ...

player, singer and guitarist from Gambia *

Nico Kasanda Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...

(a.k.a. "Dr. Nico") - a pioneer of soukous music *

Omar Khorshid Omar Khorshid ( ar, عمر خورشيد; April 9, 1945 – May 29, 1981) was an Egyptian guitarist, musician, composer, accompanist and actor. Born in Cairo, he was a well-known guitarist who accompanied many singers, including Farid Al Atrash, ...

- Influential egyptian pioneer guitar virtuoso who accompanied many singers, including Farid Al Atrash, Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, and Abdel Halim Hafez. *

Habib Koité Habib Koité ( bm, , Habib Kuwatɛ, born 1958 in Thiès, Senegal) is a Malian musician, singer, songwriter and griot based in Mali. His band, Bamada, was a supergroup of West African musicians, which included Kélétigui Diabaté on balafon. ...

- vocalist and guitarist from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Ismaël Lô Ismaël Lô (also Ismaël Lo; born 1956) is a Senegalese musician and actor. Life Lô was born in Dogondoutchi, Niger on 30 August 1956, to a Senegalese father and a Nigerien mother. Shortly after Lo's birth the family returned to Senegal wher ...

- Senegalese musician and actor *

Alick Macheso Alick Macheso (born 10 June 1968), is a Zimbabwean musician. He came onto the music scene as a solo artist in 1998, with his debut album ''Magariro'', which carried "Pakutema Munda ", probably the least noticeable from that album. From the first ...

- lead guitarist of

Orchestra Mberikwazvo An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

, of Zimbabwe *

François Luambo Makiadi François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi (6 July 1938 – 12 October 1989) was a Congolese musician. He was a major figure in 20th-century Congolese music, and African music in general, principally as the leader for over 30 years of TPOK Jazz, the most po ...

(a.k.a. "Franco") - Congolese musician; founder of the seminal group OK Jazz *

Michelino Mavatiku Visi Mavatiku Michelino Visi, commonly known as Michelino, is a soukous recording artist, composer, guitarist and vocalist, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was a member of the Congolese band African Fiesta Nationale, which was late ...

(a.k.a "Michelino") - a

Soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

recording artist, composer, guitarist and vocalist. *

Nico Mbarga Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 – 23 June 1997), better known as Prince Nico Mbarga, was a Cameroonian-Nigerian highlife musician, born to a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father in Abakaliki, Nigeria.Louis Mhlanga Louis Mhlanga (born 10 November 1956) is a Zimbabwean artist based in South Africa, an award-winning guitarist and producer. Mhlanga taught himself to play the guitar at a young age and is considered one of the best Southern African guitarists ...

- Zimbabwean guitarist and producer * Oliver Mtukudzi - guitarist from Zimbabwe; leader of the Black Spirits *

Mono Mukundu Clive 'Mono' Mukundu is a Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean music producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist largely known as a guitarist. He is also an author. Mukundu has featured on more than 1000 albums and over 200 singles from 1988 to date. Early l ...

- Zimbabwean music producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist *

Jean-Bosco Mwenda Jean-Bosco Mwenda, also known as Mwenda wa Bayeke (1930 – September 1990), was a pioneer of Congolese fingerstyle acoustic guitar music. He was also popular in other African countries, particularly in East Africa, and in the late 1950s and early ...

- pioneer of African fingerstyle in 1950s, Congo * Ray Phiri - lead guitarist from Mpumalanga, South Africa; guitar sessions on Paul Simon's album ''Graceland'' *

Jonah Sithole Jonah Sithole (1952–1997) was a Zimbabwean guitarist, vocalist and composer, known particularly for the mbira-inspired style known as mbira-guitar or chimurenga music. Early life Jonah Sithole was born in the province of Masvingo and grew up in ...

- Zimbabwean guitarist, played with Thomas Mapfumo *

Ebo Taylor Ebo Taylor (born 1936) is a Ghanaian guitarist, composer, bandleader, record producer and arranger focusing on highlife and afrobeat music. Career Ebo Taylor has been a pivotal figure on the Ghanaian music scene for over six decades. In the la ...

- Ghanaian Highlife and Afrobeat guitarist, friend of

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

* Boubacar Traoré - Malian folk and blues guitarist *

Djelimady Tounkara Djelimady Tounkara is a Malian musician and one of the foremost guitarists in Africa. Life and career Born in the culturally rich town of Kita, west of the Malian capital, Bamako, Djelimady grew up surrounded with traditional music played by mem ...

- lead guitarist for the Super Rail Band of Bamako, Mali *

Ali Farka Touré Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its deriv ...

- singer and guitarist from Malif *

Vieux Farka Touré Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré (born 1981) is a Malian singer and guitarist. He is the son of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré. Biography Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981 to Ali Farka Touré. Despite his father's discouragement and hi ...

- son of Ali Farka Touré; young rising star from Mali * Rokia Traoré - Malian songwriter and guitarist *

Sir Victor Uwaifo Victor Efosa Uwaifo (1 March 1941 – 28 August 2021) was a Nigerian musician, writer, sculptor, and musical instrument inventor, university lecturer, music legend, and the first Honorable Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism in Nigeria. ...

- guitarist from bini/Edo speaking people, based in

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

, Edo State, Nigeria *

Dr Sir Warrior Christogonus Ezebuiro Obinna (1947 – 2 June 1999), alias Dr. Sir Warrior, was a Nigerian Igbo highlife Igbo highlife is a contemporary musical genre which combines highlife and Igbo traditional music. It first started off in the southeast r ...

- vocalist and guitarist of Oriental Brothers International Band {{DEFAULTSORT:African guitarists

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

Guitarists