Title: Tapha Niang

Performances: Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra.

Culture: Toumani Diabate is a Malian musician who is well known internationally as a versatile Kora player. The kora is a bridge harp made up of 21 strings and it is played throughout western african countries like Mali. Together with the Symmetric Orchestra, a group of musicians formed by Diabate to modernize traditional music from mali. Diabate's goal is to create a symmetrical balance between traditional and modern music, mixing traditional sounds from Mali with various genres such as jazz, flamenco and blues. The Arabic lyrics in this song come from from the Qu'ran, which caused this song to come to controversy in 2008 when the song was used in a video game, Little Big Planet.

Instrumentation: Light Strings, Brass, Vocals (Verses from Qu'ran), African Percussion, Drum kit, Electric Guitar and Bass, Kora.

This is a beautiful composition incorporating elements of music from across the world. Its an example of how music can be both traditional and untraditional at the same time, creating a cultural equilibrium. Diabate uses the Kora and native rhythm to create music that is true to the Malian people while incorporating western instruments to provide harmony and form that is central to western genres. This song is also a good example of how music can be seen as inappropriate depending on the context it is being used. Sony Computer Entertainment received objections based on the inclusion of Qu'ran text in video game, so in response, the company delayed the release of the game in order to delete the verse from the song to be included in the game. This also brings up a matter of staying authentic to a piece of music as much as possible. Sony opted for including the song anyway because of its geographical sound that remains relevant to the game itself, despite the fact that it is not the authentic song. Personally, I think it was fine to use this song in the game, as it is not a song created for worshiping purposes but rather for celebration and enjoyment; the inauthenticity is due to the objection that it received for its inclusion. But that is my opinion, rooted from the fact that I love Little Big Planet.