The latest releases from YYR feature two prominent contemporary donso ngoni players and singers, both protégés of Yoro Sidibe. In this context the word protégés apprentice is not inaccurate; not everyone can decide to become a donso, and the gift is said to be passed down from strong women to strong sons; it is equally a gift to be able to recognize which young boys have what it takes to brave both the bush and the strings of the donso ngoni. Young men are apprenticed to the great elder musicians and earn their place in the hierarchical society of the donsos. Toba Seydou Traore and Abdoulaye Traore have apprenticed to the greatest living donso ngoni artist in Yoro Sidibe, and to that end YYR is both proud and excited to bring their music to our little corner of the world. Toba Seydou Traore was born in the early 1960s near Bougouni in Mali, where as a young child he heard the music of hunters. Seydou’s ensuing fascination led to much family conflict, but he persisted, later becoming an apprentice of renowned musician Yoro Sidibe (YY005) and eventually a master in his own right. Consistently satisfying listeners across Mali with his strong voice and truly comic sensibility, Seydou cries out here over the trance-inducing pulse of his deep six-string donso ngoni to exceptional hunters, Muslim holy men, and elderly blacksmiths, lauding their knowledge, power, and invaluable contributions to Mande society.