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griots - What does it mean?

Definition of 'griots'

English

Noun

(head)
  • * 2007, James McBide, Hip-Hop Planet , National Geographic (April 2007), 106,
  • "The long history is that spoken-word music made its way here on slave ships from West Africa centuries ago: Ethnomusicologists trace hip-hop's roots to the dance, drum, and song of West African griots , or storytellers, its pairing of word and music the manifestation of the painful journey of slaves who survived the middle passage".