I like African music, and I'm a huge Ravi Shankar fan.
African music, though very old, is always being rediscovered in the West.
I grew up singing Mexican music, and that's based on indigenous Mexican rhythms. Mexican music also has an overlay of West African music, based on huapango drums, and it's kind of like a 6/8 time signature, but it really is a very syncopated 6/8. And that's how I attack vocals.
I've been informed by both sides, jazz, western music, Asian music, African music, all sides, because I've been interested in the sound of the universe, and that sound is without limit.
The curious beauty about African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad story.