Guinean singer Mory Kante, star of 1980s African wave, dead

Guinean singer Mory Kante, who helped introduce African music to a world audience in the 1980s, died on Friday in the capital Conakry, his son Balla Kante told AFP.

Kante is best known for his dance song "Yeke Yeke," which was a huge hit in Africa before becoming a No. 1 in several European countries in 1988.

Nicknamed the "electronic griot" - a play on the name for traditional West African musicians and storytellers - Kante died in hospital at the age of 70 after succumbing to untreated health problems.

Kante spent much of his youth in Mali, which neighbours his native Guinea, where in the early 1970s he joined the renowned Rail Band in which Keita was also singer.

Leaving the band in the 1980s, Kante revolutionised the West African repertoire by going electric and blending traditional Mandingo music with urban grooves.