Maria De Barros

A native of Dakar, Senegal who lived for some time in Mauritania, de Barros's heart belongs to Cape Verde. The tiny island off the coast of Africa is the birthplace of her parents and is home to some of the most beautifully melancholy music on earth: morna. Add that to the fact that Cesaria Evora is her godmother, and de Barros's fate as a singer seems predestined. Her first album, 2003's Nha Mundo: Music of Cabo Verde, was a cool, worldly take on the style.