In the 1960s, after social and political upheaval in his native Mali, Ibrahim (photographed left) grew up in refugee camps near the southern Algerian town of Tamanrasset. One day he saw a film at a makeshift desert village cinema. It was a western and it featured a cowboy playing a guitar. The instrument gave Ibrahim a dream. He built his own guitar out of a tin can, a stick and bicycle brake wire and began playing old Touareg melodies on it. He got real good and met other musicians and poets who shared a similar life experience. They formed a band. Between then and now, Ibrahim and his fellow band members, were soldiers in Ghadaffi's army, ran with the rebel Tauregs, got famous, won a few Grammys, and have traveled the world singing songs about their homeland. I just love these guys and the sounds that come out of their guitars and drums. And let's just say, they're rockin' that Lawrence of Arabia look!
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