With his band Markus James and the Wassonrai, he mixes the American style with traditional sounds of the Wassoulou and Sonrai peoples of Mali.
Samori overthrew the older Wassoulou state of Fama Dyanabufarina Modi in 1870, and expanded his empire from there, taking the Wassoulou name.
Samori Ture (c. 1830–1900), founder of the Wassoulou Empire
The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived (1878–1898) empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Touré and destroyed by the French colonial army.