On March 21, 2012, a coup took place in Mali. It was led by mutinying Malian soldiers, who were angry about how the Tuareg rebellion was being managed. The next day, the soldiers said that they had overthrown the government of Amadou Toumani Touré, forcing him into hiding.
Immediately after the coup, two groups struggled to control northern Malia. The rebels, who called themselves the MNLA were locked in combat with hardcore Islamists. Even though Mali was already almost 100% Muslim, the hardcore Islamists were not satisfied. They felt the population was not religious enough and they declared Sharia law.
As part of their campaign of Sharia law, they banned music in Mali. They destroyed everything related to music, including leveling radio stations, and confiscating and destroying musical instruments and anything that could play music.
Johanna Schwartz’s “They Will Have To Kill Us First” relates the reactions of some of the most famous Malian artists to the ban against music. Among them were singers Aliou Toure, Khaira Arby and Fadimata “Disco” Walett Oumar, guitarists Moussa Sidi and Oumar and Gavbar Toure, and drummer Nathanael Dembele. Many of them fled the area, and in some cases, the country, along with hundreds of thousands other Malians. A group of rockers from Mali, the Songhoy Blues, were spotted by the Africa Express project, and they were given a chance to record an album and tour Great Britain.
The real stars of the show are Khaira Arby and Disco, two female artists who return to Mali to continue the fight against Sharia law. They exude a bravery, and even more, a joy for life that is infectious. Most of us, hopefully all of us, have experienced tremendous joy from music. Seeing it elevated to a level like this is almost inspiring. You can’t kill music.
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