Bender offers the first cultural history of modern African music. He describes the whole range of African musical genres—from the Senegambian/Manding style through Congolese soukous, Cameroonian makossa, West African Highlife, and the music of struggle and liberation of South Africa—and locates each in its social, political, and historical context. Sweet Mother contains information available in no other single source, including an extensive discography and bibliography.