IVORY COAST

Dobet Gnahore - Friday 14,12:30pm at Chicago Cultural Center; 7:30pm at Old Town School of Folk Music

The Artist:

Singer-songwriter Gnahore's earthy, acrobatic vocals and dance moves stole the show when she played the Old Town School of Folk Music last fall with Malian blues-pop star Habib Koite and turbolunged South African troubadour Vusi Mahlasela. Her war-torn nation's brightest hope for a global luminary of its own, she grew up the daughter of a master percussionist father in a renowned Ivory Coast artists' collaborative. That exposure to myriad arts and African ethnicities continues to inform her music: a pan-African blend that mingles seven languages, love ballads, and social protest, and traverses the continent from the melodic Maninka/efi pop of Mali to the gently undulating mbira rhythms of Zimbabwe.

Hear it:

Na Afriki (Cumbancha, 2007). Gnahore's sophomore CD is her shot at the big time: a slick production that brings together seasoned African and French musicians—including Gnahore's French husband and bandmate, guitarist Colin Laroche de Feline.

Taste it:

More and more Chicagoans are being initiated into the slow-cooked, full-flavored cuisine of West Africa thanks to Check, Please!, which recently featured Yassa on the show. Awa Gueye, the Senegalese chef behind the operation, is especially known for her mafe, a thick stew of lamb with ground peanuts and habanero peppers.

Buy it:

Get certified fair-trade goods such as handcarved djembe drums, gourd instruments, and amber jewelry from the Ivory Coast and other African nations from Lodaat, the same importer that brings in antique textiles, housewares and masks for the Field and DuSable museums. The company recently opened a boutique retail outlet. 437 Ogden Ave, Downers Grove (630-852-7544).

Learn it:

Bang a drum with Old Town School of Folk Music djembe instructor Michael Taylor. The expert percussionist will teach you the technique, hand coordination and traditional rhythms of the skin-covered, carved-wood hand drum native to West Africa.