Mdou Moctar

Mahamadou Souleymane, known professionally as Mdou Moctar, is a Nigerien guitarist, singer and songwriter who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His music first gained attention through a trading network of mobile phones and memory cards in West Africa. He sings in the Tamasheq language. Moctar's fourth album, Ilana: The Creator, released in 2019, was the first to feature a full band. He plays guitar in the takamba and assouf styles. He also appeared in the 2015 film Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai. His first album, Anar (2008), featured autotuned vocals and was not officially released, but became popular across the Sahel through mobile phone music trading.