Guitarists

• Ibrahim Ag Alhabib – guitarist for the band Tinariwen
• Barthelemy Attisso – lead guitarist for Orchestre Baobab from Senegal
• Afel Bocoum – Malian guitarist who was a student of Ali Farka Touré
• Omara "Bombino" Moctar – Tuareg guitarist and singer from Agadez, Niger, known worldwide
• Henri Bowane – important figure in the development of Congo rumba, early teacher of Franco
• Oliver De Coque – leader of Ogene Sound Super of Africa
• Victor Démé – singer and guitarist from Burkina Faso
• Fatoumata Diawara – Malian guitarist and singer
• Diblo Dibala – Congolese soukous musician known as "Machine Gun" for his fast guitar playing
• Mamadou Diop (also known as Modou Diop) – Senegalese rhythm guitarist now living in the United States
• Sona Jobarteh – Griot kora player, singer, and guitarist from Gambia
• Nico Kasanda (a.k.a. "Dr. Nico") – early creator of soukous music
• Omar Khorshid – skilled Egyptian guitarist who played with singers such as Farid Al Atrash, Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, and Abdel Halim Hafez
• Habib Koité – vocalist and guitarist from Mali
• Ismaël Lô – Senegalese musician and actor
• Alick Macheso – bass guitarist for his own band Orchestra Mberikwazvo from Zimbabwe
• François Luambo Makiadi (a.k.a. "Franco") – Congolese musician who started the important group OK Jazz
• Michelino Mavatiku Visi (a.k.a. "Michelino") – soukous musician, composer, guitarist, and singer
• Nico Mbarga – lead guitarist and composer of the song "Sweet Mother"
• Louis Mhlanga – Zimbabwean guitarist and music producer
• Oliver Mtukudzi – guitarist from Zimbabwe, leader of the Black Spirits
• Mono Mukundu – Zimbabwean music producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist
• Jean-Bosco Mwenda – pioneer of African fingerstyle guitar in the 1950s from Congo
• Ray Phiri – lead guitarist from Mpumalanga, South Africa, who played on Paul Simon's album Graceland
• Jonah Sithole – Zimbabwean guitarist who played with Thomas Mapfumo
• Ebo Taylor – Ghanaian guitarist who plays Highlife and Afrobeat music, friend of Fela Kuti
• Boubacar Traoré – Malian guitarist who plays folk and blues music
• Djelimady Tounkara – lead guitarist for the Super Rail Band from Bamako, Mali
• Ali Farka Touré – singer and guitarist from Mali
• Vieux Farka Touré – son of Ali Farka Touré, a young rising star from Mali
• Rokia Traoré – Malian songwriter and guitarist
• Sir Victor Uwaifo – guitarist from the Bini/Edo-speaking people, based in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria
• Dr Sir Warrior – vocalist and guitarist for the Oriental Brothers International Band