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About this Song
World music as a formal category of sonic practice emerged in the late 20th century to address a longstanding gap in global music distribution, which had for decades prioritized commercial pop, rock, and other dominant Western genres, sidelining the vast majority of creative work originating from regions outside of North America and Western Europe. The category was designed to create a unified space where listeners could locate work that draws from deeply rooted cultural sonic traditions, while also creating pathways for creators from those regions to access global audiences that would have otherwise been closed off to them. Over time, the category has evolved to encompass not just archival recordings of longstanding traditional practices, but also contemporary works that engage with those traditions, reinterpreting them for new generations of listeners both within the creators’ home countries and across the world.
![CIZA - Isaka II (6am) [with Tems, Omah Lay, Thukuthela, Jazzworx ] (Official Lyric Video)](https://pbcdn.aoneroom.com/image/2025/10/16/57ed518355208ae41cf8247e36007516.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize%2Cw_120/format%2Cwebp)
