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West African Supergroup Les Amazones D'Afrique Returns With 'Amazones Power'

Left to right: Fafa Ruffino, Mamani Keita, Niariu and Kandy Guira are members of the collective Les Amazones d'Afrique. Their new album, <em>Amazones Power</em>, is out now.
Karen Paulina Biswell
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Courtesy of the artist
Left to right: Fafa Ruffino, Mamani Keita, Niariu and Kandy Guira are members of the collective Les Amazones d'Afrique. Their new album, Amazones Power, is out now.

In 2017, the all-woman collective Les Amazones d'Afrique introduced themselves to the world with their debut album, Republique Amazone. The songs showcased the group's two signatures: intoxicating, danceable rhythms and a message calling out violence and other forms of mistreatment of women all over the globe.

Their second album, called Amazones Power was released Friday, and it builds on many of those same themes. The group has grown since last time, with the core of women with roots in West Africa now supplemented by an international mix of men and women.

NPR's Michel Martin spoke to Niariu and Fafa Ruffino, two of the stars of the collective, about why they wanted to be part of the project and their personal connections to the social issues they sing about on the album. Listen to the full conversation in the player above.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Michel Martin is the weekend host of All Things Considered, where she draws on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member Stations.
Robert Baldwin III
Robert Baldwin III is an assistant producer for Weekend All Things Considered and a reporter covering developing legal issues. Baldwin was part of the team that won a 2019 National Press Club Award for the breaking news coverage of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.