Suntou Susso, Jaliya Silokang: The Path of a Griot Review

When Tradition Dances: Suntou Susso’s Living Griot Groove

By Ferell Aubre

From its opening moments, Jaliya Silokang: The Path of a Griot plays as a world fusion project where Suntou Susso places tradition at the center of the floor and invites everything else to move in time with it. His kora sets the pulse immediately as a melodic accent and a rhythmic engine, and the ensemble gathers around it with purpose.

The title track, “Jaliya (Being A Griot),” establishes the record’s posture. Susso’s kora playing is cleanly articulated, rooted in traditional cyclical patterns drawn from kora and djembe practice, and it drives the groove rather than floating through it. Bass, drums, and percussion surround those patterns, reinforcing and illuminating their internal motion. Vocals enter with rich harmonic support, Susso’s voice resonant and centered in the midrange, carrying authority without force. When the kora steps forward for its solo, quick pentatonic figures match the ensemble’s dance-ready energy, before a unison band figure opens space for Susso’s improvised vocal section. The role of the contemporary griot comes into focus with Susso being storyteller, witness, and rhythmic guide. This is the process through the album, Griot as an action unfolding in real time.

That sense of collective groove runs throughout the album. “Badinya (Family)” leans into funk without loosening its West African foundation. Hypnotic rhythmic cycles pull the listener inward as call-and-response vocals reinforce the music’s communal core. Horns add bursts of color and momentum, their sharp shots flirting with jazz and funk phrasing, while a guitar solo introduces a fusion overtone. When the kora solo arrives, it’s set up by a catchy band figure, and once it hits, it grooves hard, its rhythmic force dancing straight out of the speakers, driven by repetition, precision, and feel.

Even when the album shifts texture, the groove remains central. “Yirolu Bala (Within the Trees)” opens as a ballad, pairing kora and strings in a spacious, elegant introduction before subtly reorienting the feel. As the groove emerges, male and female vocals intertwine with ornamented phrasing, moving fluidly between response and support. The strings cool the melodic surface, adding depth and air without smoothing away the rhythmic core. Susso’s kora solo here is lyrical and assured, extending the song’s emotional arc while staying locked into the ensemble’s pulse.

“Lannaya (Trust)” brings the dance floor fully into view. A strong West African groove anchors the track, with the kora adding yet another rhythmic layer rather than claiming the spotlight outright. Vocal harmonies, a blending of male and female voices, resonate with warmth and texture, reinforcing the sense of shared movement. Midway through, synths enter with subtle dance energy, riding beneath the kora solo and expanding the sonic field.  As the backing chorus sings “people love each other,” Susso’s griot voice circles the refrain, delivering story and affirmation from within the crowd. The result is contagious and music that insists on motion as a form of connection.

Across Jaliya Silokang: The Path of a Griot, collaboration creates the feel and plays like a community in action. Whether through layered vocals, horn punctuation, string textures, or rhythm section interplay, the album prioritizes listening and responsiveness. Afrobeat, jazz-fusion, funk, and soul elements appear as stylistic voices conversing fluently inside an Afro-Manding framework. The production preserves warmth and openness, allowing the momentum of the band to come through.

By the time Jaliya Silokang: The Path of a Griot closes, what lingers is a sense of joy. The Path of a Griot doesn’t frame tradition as inheritance to be preserved behind glass, nor does it chase modernity for its own sake. Instead, it flows through Susso as a grounded, rhythmic, and communal story.  On this record, groove is the message, and movement is to be carried to the heart.