Jali popular song and conflict mediation in the aftermath of the Gambia’s 2016 election

In December 2016, the Gambia appeared on the brink of violent conflict when Yahya Jammeh, the country’s dictator of 22 years, refused to concede defeat in the presidential election. This article investigates the way griot performers responded to the Gambia’s political crisis, using the platform of the popular kora mbalax style as a medium for political engagement and conflict resolution. It shows that performers’ responses to the Gambia’s political crisis drew on longstanding practices of conflict mediation while also demonstrating creativity and flexibility in engaging with social media and more direct forms of political critique.