Music throughout West Africa has a history of evolving in a comprehensive way, involving many different types of music. It begins with different musical traditions across West Africa influencing each other, and by the 19th century involves Western popular music influences in West African music. Roughly between 1200 and 1900, a succession of ancient African empires with centralized governments flourished across West Africa, with various kingdoms, such as the Songhai Kingdom and the Ashanti Kingdom, covering much of Mali, Contemporary Ghana and Nigeria. Large groups of royal musicians accompanied the trade of gold, ivory, and salt between these empires, serving as aural symbols of the kings' power and prestige. As a result, musicians across West Africa became aware of the different musical traditions that existed throughout the region and began to incorporate elements of these traditions into each other. One sign of the unifying effect this has had on music in West Africa is the striking similarities between some rhythms found in the music of Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic. Of course, there is a myriad of different musical traditions both between these nations and within these nations, and these differences continue despite their mutual influences. Although these are countries with vast spaces between them, they have nevertheless come to embrace some of the same characteristics in music production. Popular Western instruments, including guitars, harmonicas, accordions and brass instruments, were introduced along the west coast of Africa during the 19th century, with the arrival of European traders and missionaries. Cosmopolitan cities welcomed a growing flow of people...... middle of paper ......g West African culture. West African music has been influenced by a wide range of Western popular music, such as jazz, soul, funk, and hip hop, largely through the flow of ideas and cultural exchanges resulting from modern globalization. West African musicians have incorporated aspects of other music into their own, resulting in new and original forms of musical styles. Bibliography Charry, Eric. African Hip Hop. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012Collins, E. J. 'Post-war popular band music in West Africa', African Arts 10 (1977) 53-60. Salm, Steven J. 'Globalisation and West African Music', History Compass (2010) 58 - 76.Stone, Ruth M. Music in West Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Calf Michael E. Fela. The life and times of an African musical icon. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000.