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Their instruments are discarded gas cans, animals hides and whatever else they can scavenge to produce a tune. But they do make music.

It was from the late 1970s that young boys with homemade banjos were increasingly seen at street corners, on country roads and around towns in Malawi. They began to not only to construct banjos but also guitars, percussive devices as well as a huge bass banjo/guitar, usually with a single string, played with stick or a bottle as a slider.

“Intuitive, authentic, and full of ruthless rhythms, Madalitso will make you clap, dance, smile and dance some more.” It's been an extraordinary few years for this dance folk duo, who until 2017, hadn't left their native Malawi. The decade spent roaming the streets as a pair, and perfecting their home-made instruments and vibrant playing style, seems to have paid off - since their first performance on an international stage at Sauti Za Busara in Zanzibar 6 years ago, the rollercoaster ride hasn't stopped!

Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents divorced when she was four years old. She was raised by her mother, who bought her a ukulele at age three. She began playing guitar and writing songs at age eight. She says that she may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the television show Hee Haw. In her native Cleveland she experienced frequent bullying and racially motivated assaults as a child.

In a BBC Radio 4 three-part series Rhiannon Giddens explores how African American roots music has been whitewashed from the history of American folk and country music. String bands, hoedowns, square dances, old-time fiddle and banjo styles, these sounds were a dominant strand in African American roots music from the 17th century onwards.

From Black to White: Early Banjo History in 2 Minutes

George Washington "Wash" Phillips (January 11, 1880 – September 20, 1954) was an American gospel and gospel blues singer and instrumentalist. The exact nature of the instrument or instruments he played is uncertain, being identified only as "novelty accompaniment" on the labels of the 78 rpm records released during his lifetime.

Much of the music we listen to and the instruments used to make it is taken for granted by audiences and musicians alike. Kafari and Jake Hoffmann reveal the histories of their instruments (the bones and banjo) and the music they make in both objective and personal terms. Furthermore, what does it mean to play them today? As a black man, can Kafari play music on his own terms?