(jazzy guitar music) - [Narrator] Coming up on "Ocean State Sessions", Sidy Maiga, (singing in foreign language) and Infusion Evolution.

(singing in foreign language) (West African music) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) - Okay, so I'm gonna leave the drum like that.

Okay, good.

Okay.

Ready?

- Yeah.

(rhythmic drumming music) - [Speaker] Come on in and grab a seat.

This is my friend Sidy.

- Hello.

How are you?

Welcome.

My name is Sidy Maiga.

This drum, do you know the name of these drums?

I'm from Mali, West Africa.

Okay, good.

That's why I'm here.

So, can you say djembe?

- [Children] Djembe.

(children chattering) - Yeah.

Yay.

- We learned about djembe in music class.

- Exactly.

I came to United States to perform and to teach, to play music.

Drumming has always been part of my life, because in Mali, you always hear drumming.

You see people dancing.

So, we grow up with that.

(drums drumming) Nice.

I've been to more than 500 school, not just Rhode Island, but all over.

Djembe has three notes, okay?

You play after me.

So I show them, I say, "Okay, djembe has three sound, like three notes."

So tone, slap, bass.

(children drumming) Nice.

Then I do again.

(children drumming) Hey.

Then they keep doing that with me.

Then I go, I make it fun.

(Sidy drumming) (group drumming) So then I make them, "Ah."

(group drumming) You know, it's not always the easiest thing teaching kids.

So, the song I'm going to teach is called "Dance Out".

I wanted to get a degree because I left school when I was younger to play music.

But when I came here, I got my GED.

Then, you know, I'm like, oh, I didn't even think I could go to Berkeley.

- The music of Mali, West Africa.

(audience clapping) - People tell you, "Oh, I think you should go and you should do it."

A couple days later you get an email saying, "Oh, you got accepted with this much scholarship."

So I ended up going there for free.

So, it was very, it was the best decision I ever made in my life.

- Thank you for being a part of this special tribute, celebrating the class of 2020.

- And honoring the brilliant artists who inspire us.

In 2020, we were supposed to perform with John Legend for our commencement.

♪ If you hear this message ♪ ♪ Wherever you stand ♪ - [Sidy] But because of the pandemic, we ended up doing it online, which was a bummer.

- [Interviewer] You did like a Zoom?

- Yeah, we did a Zoom and we all record our part.

They put it together, you know.

It was the most miserable, miserable way to do.

(laughs) (lively upbeat music) ♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Sing it out with me ♪ - One, two, three.

So you, you alternate.

Don't be nervous.

We're all friends.

Right?

Wherever I go, people are like, "Why Rhode Island?"

Because they don't know what's going on in here.

Everywhere I go now, somebody know me in Rhode Island, you know, especially if it's a music scene.

(West African music) And also schools, you know, I have been going to many schools.

(students drumming) If you combine all of them together, then you know, like why you go look elsewhere if you have everything going on over, you know, over here.

That's why I like being here.

And also, it's beautiful.

We are close to water, you know.

I love being in the water, even though I'm African, but I'm getting used to the cold.

(laughs) Hey.

(group drumming) Nice.

That was good.

Nice.

Okay, next one.

(West African music) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (singing in foreign language) ♪ We love you ♪ ♪ Grandma ♪ (singing in foreign language) ♪ Oh grandma ♪ ♪ We love you ♪ (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (West African music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (West African music) (West African music fading) (moves into soft Latin music) (singing in foreign language) ♪ Oh no ♪ (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (soft Latin music) ♪ Oh no ♪ (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ (soft Latin music) (singing in foreign language) ♪ Oh no ♪ (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (soft Latin music) (soft Latin music continues) (soft Latin music continues) (soft Latin music continues) ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, tell me, tell me, darling ♪ ♪ Yes, I got to know ♪ (singing in foreign language) ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me ♪ (people chattering) - If you're missing the quiz.

As teachers, I think we have an opportunity to be transparent with our students.

Guys, who else needs this quiz?

And really allow them to see that we are human.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

- Good morning.

- I wanna laugh too.

So, I'm a high school biology teacher in Central Falls.

Already in Central Falls, there's so much talent that has yet to be fully nurtured.

I also love the idea of you being a teacher though.

That's my own-- - No.

- I do.

Lee presented as a student who was shy, but you knew when you looked in her eyes that there was this fire inside of her and that the world really needs all of the talents that she brings with her.

♪ You don't know, babe ♪ ♪ When you hold me ♪ ♪ And kiss me slowly ♪ ♪ It's the sweetest thing ♪ - [David] The first time that I saw Lee sing was on a, on a Facebook video.

♪ If I had it my way ♪ - Just belting it out and I thought, "What?

Where did that come from?"

It's unexpected.

♪ You're the coffee that I need in the morning ♪ - [David] It was sad because at that time in Central Falls, we did not have an established music program.

♪ Give it all ♪ - He was really popular in high school, (laughs) so his classroom was really, really the hotspot, like the go-to, he was the coolest teacher.

Everybody knew him.

So at first, it was just I heard that he could play the trumpet.

(lively flamenco music) Eventually I heard that he was in a band and they were doing like a clapping series.

Kind of felt like a Latin flamenco type of feel.

And I just remember being so like drawn in, (lively flamenco music) and I remember like afterwards, I said to him, "One day, I'm gonna be in your band."

(laughs) But I didn't think that that was actually possible.

After I graduated, David reached out to me shortly after.

He was like, "Hey, come hang out.

Come jam out with us."

I think "Sangre" was actually the song that I went to see you guys play.

- Yeah.

- I really think, 'cause it's the only one where you guys do that.

- I know what it's like to live under certain conditions and I also know what it's like to find people who have offered their hand and who have lifted me and nurtured me.

Even if it's hard, you can do it.

You can do it.

Take your time, use each other, utilize each other's knowledge.

And I think if I can do that in the classroom, but I can also do it outside through music.

So four out of eight?

50% - David has really gone out there and gone above and beyond.

It definitely kind of encourages me to continue to move forward and go after the things that I know that I'm worthy of and kind of still come back to the music.

(singing in foreign language) On our difficult days, music definitely kind of brings that, like makes you feel alive again.

♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ - [Lee] We're able to kind of do all of that together.

♪ Tell me, (singing in foreign language) ♪ ♪ Tell me ♪ - [Speaker] Finally!

(group laughing and cheering) - [Lee] That was amazing.

(light Afro-Cuban music) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (light Afro-Cuban music) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (light Afro-Cuban music) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language continues) (singing in foreign language continues) (light Afro-Cuban music) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music continues) (light Afro-Cuban music fading) - "Sangre"!

- [Lee] Sounds good.

- [Narrator] For more "Ocean State Sessions", plus all your Rhode Island PBS favorites, visit RIPBS.ORG.

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