The category of world music was initially crafted to center sonic traditions that exist outside the most commercially dominant Western-centric genres that dominate global mainstream music circuits, creating space for work rooted in specific cultural, regional, and communal identities that might otherwise be overlooked by broader audiences. This space elevates the depth and specificity of creative practice from every corner of the globe, framing each work not as a novelty, but as a legitimate, layered expression of artistic vision tied to the place from which it emerges. Unlike mainstream genre categories that often prioritize broad commercial appeal over cultural specificity, world music’s core framework prioritizes the context that shapes a work’s creation, ensuring that the cultural roots of any piece are not stripped away to fit a universalized, market-friendly mold.