Music of Djibouti

The Djiboutian Music (Somali: Muusiga Jabuutiyaan, Afar: Gabuutih Gadda) refers to the musical styles, techniques and sounds of Djibouti. The first major form of modern Djiboutian music began in the mid-1940s, when Djibouti was a part of the French Somaliland. Djiboutian music is characterized by poetry, so that listening to a Djiboutian song is first paying attention to its meaning. The artist rocks the listeners in the cheerfulness of the refrains and the turn of the sentences. Often sung by a couple, a song is played in the form of a sleight of hand between a man and a woman, one recounting his feelings and his love, even his passion for the other, until the other accepts or rejects this offer.

The Djiboutian song is also distinguished by the "Gouux", a deep and sensual voice which highlights the artist's passion for his work.