We called Salif in Paris shortly before he begun his 1999 tour in promotion of his album, Papa, which was about to be nominated for a Grammy award.

AFROPOP WORLDWIDE: How's Bamako?

SALIF KEITA: Very good.

AW: You made some changes to Papa prior to its US release, didn't you?

SK: We added a few musicians here, and we redid the mix. It's better now.

AW: Some years ago, you told us you were going to make a real rock record. Is this that record?

SK: Me, I think this is it. It's rock, no? Voila. But I had to keep a little originality also. Always.

AW: A lot of people don't understand your affection for rock music.

SK: Since I was 15, all I listened to was rock and American pop. At my house even now, that's all there is. When people say I'm a griot, they have to know that I'm not a griot. I am someone who listens to lots of pop music and who knows how to adapt Malian culture and songs to pop music. I've always tried to do that.

AW: Do you feel misunderstood?

SK: Yes. Yes. People have never understood that. But that's it. People have tried to make me do concerts in the jazz circuit. But I would rather do concerts in the rock and pop circuit.

AW: So were you happy working with Vernon Reid?

SK: Yes, yes. I adjusted it here. I changed some things. But I liked what he did, and I kept it all.

AW: Let's talk about some of the songs. What about "Abede?"

SK: "Abede" is the name of a journalist from Guinea. He did what he liked. He said what he had to say. He had no fear, and without personal interest. That's rare in Africa. He's been dead about two years.

AW: What about "Bolon?"

SK: "Bolon" is about a man who has lost his fiancée and he's looking for her. He's going all over the earth. He's going to find her. You pass by the spiritualists. You pass by the fetishists. You pass by the powerful. He's fighting. He has to find her. He's going to find her.

AW: What about "Tolon Wilile?"

SK: Time to party.

AW: Your band has changed again. You had American musicians on the record and in the tour last summer, but now you're back to a Paris-based band. What's going on there?

SK: The band is a little different. I really wanted to keep my American musicians. They were very good musicians. But it wasn't practical for me. I live in Africa and in France. It's hard to live in Africa and work with musicians who live in America. So I had to change. But Ousmane Kouyate is still there. It's still the same group.

AW: I have the sense that you had to ignore a lot of advice you were getting in order to make Papa. Was that hard?

SK: You must break down the walls, always. You must move ahead. It's simple. And you have to make the music you like. Always. I believe you are a musician and you make music for you and for others, you profit. I was never afraid. It's hard, but if you do something you don't like, that won't go well.

AW: Each of your records is so different from all the others.

SK: I really like that. I want my records to make a universe. Whichever record you pick out will be another personality, and if you listen to all that I've done, you won't get bored. The next record I make will not be the same.

AW: So have you thought about what the next one will be? SK: Yes, but that's my secret.

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