Damon Albarn Granted 'Local King' Status In Mali

Blur frontman and respected solo artist Damon Albarn has no shortage of fans around the world, but the people of Mali, in west Africa, may have trumped us all in showing it by declaring the muso a 'local king'.

According to the BBC, Albarn has remained a staunch supporter of live music in the country despite continuing cancellation or downsizing of festivals in recent times and the heightened struggles of its music and tourism industries following a terror attack on the Radisson Blu hotel back in November last year.

As Rolling Stone reports, Albarn's new honours — which were granted along with wishes of "long life, happiness and success" — extend beyond just a nifty title; a classroom was also named in his honour, and he was bestowed with a new Malian name.

"I'm not used to this sort of thing, but it's fantastic to see this schoolroom," Albarn told the BBC. "And it's a school dedicated to music and dance. That's where my heart is, so my heart is here."

Albarn's contributions to Mali run the gamut from collaborative albums made with local musicians (2002's Mali Music, along with a further two LPs recorded with Africa Express) to the fact that he performed at this month's Festival Acoustik in Mali's capital city of Bamako, where the Radisson Blu hotel attack took place, despite the declaration of a state of emergency.

Listen to BBC4's report on Albarn's kingly ascent below.