The second release of the World Music Network Rough Guides series,[1] it largely focuses on Malian music, with six of the twelve tracks coming from that country.

The compilation was produced by Phil Stanton, co-founder of the World Music Network.

[2] Chris Nickson of AllMusic gave the album four stars, but lamented the broadness of the topic, stating "the real problem with this album isn't the music, which is glorious throughout, but the fact that it suffers from the size of its ambition and the inability to fully realize it.

"[3] Michaelangelo Matos, writing for the Chicago Reader, praised the record's focus on slow to midtempo music, stating it "succeeds in sustaining a meditative, inner-gazing mood.

"[4] Khalifa Ould Eide This article on a 1990s compilation album is a stub.