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 themsel ...

Guitarists

* Ibrahim Ag Alhabib - guitarist of the band Tinariwen * Barthelemy Attisso - lead guitarist of

Orchestre Baobab Orchestra Baobab is a Senegalese band established in 1970 as the house band of the Baobab Club in Dakar. Many of the band's original members had previously played with Star Band de Dakar in the 1960s. Directed by '' timbalero'' and vocalist Balla ...

, 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 Nig ...

- 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 Victor Démé (1962 – 21 September 2015) was a Burkinabé musician and singer-songwriter originating from a Mandinka family. His death was caused by a bout of malaria. Biography Victor Démé was born in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. His mot ...

- 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 t ...

* Fatoumata Diawara - Malian guitarist and singer * Diblo Dibala - 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 impro ...

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 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 Atras ...

- 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 bala ...

- 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. Ma ...

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 whe ...

- 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, ce ...

, 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 lat ...

(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 impro ...

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 Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi (22 September 1952 – 23 January 2019) was a Zimbabwean musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern Africa Region. Career Mtukudzi grew up in Highfield, a ...

- 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 Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (23 March 1947 – 12 July 2017) was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Thabethe Phiri, a Malawian immigrant worker, and South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. He wa ...

- 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 - 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 pi ...

* 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 memb ...

- 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 his ...

- son of Ali Farka Touré; young rising star from Mali *

Rokia Traoré Rokia Traoré (born 24. January 1974) is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist. She made six albums between 1998 and 2016. ''Bowmboï'' (2003) won the Critics Award category at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2004 and ''Tcham ...

- Malian songwriter and guitarist * Sir Victor Uwaifo - guitarist from bini/Edo speaking people, based in

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of 2022. It is situated ap ...

, Edo State, Nigeria *

Dr Sir Warrior Christogonus Ezebuiro Obinna (1947 – 2 June 1999), alias Dr. Sir Warrior, was a Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River runnin ...

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

Guitarists 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 themselve ...