The djembé is mainly played in West Africa. The drum is famous for the different sounds and tones one can make with it; learning to play it well can take years. It is made from a hollowed-out tree trunk with a goatskin stretched over it, and is played standing or sitting and clasped between the legs. African music and its rhythms have influenced music styles worldwide through trade and slavery, like for example Latin-American and Caribbean music (rumba and salsa). Jazz developed in the United States as a mixture of African and Western music.

Nowadays, classical Western music also makes more use of percussion instruments or elements from Eastern music. Moreover, African or Afro-American influences are unmistakeable in popular music styles such as reggae, rhythm & blues, hiphop and rap.

Conversely, a continent like Africa has experienced musical influences from all over the world. As a result of colonialism and improved methods of communication, Western music, especially rock and pop, can now be heard everywhere in Africa. This has led to the disappearance of traditional music, but also to the emergence of new hybrids. Music is an outstanding example of how cultural exchange can lead to exceptional things. It does not only create space for musical innovation but it also promotes the equality of global relations. African musicians like Youssou N’Dour and Salif Keita from Senegal, Amadou & Mariam from Mali and Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miriam Makeba from South Africa have shown the Western public that Africa is more than just a continent of hunger and poverty. At the same time there is also the risk of cultural uniformization due to the more dominant position of certain countries and companies in the global interplay of forces. On a national scale this effect is already visible: the familiar chains and brands are present in every Dutch shopping centre.

At the same time the tourist sees the same shops and advertisements in foreign cities. American influences in particular are noticeable in the remotest corners of the earth. In her influential book No Logo, published in 2000, the Canadian activist Naomi Klein, with the anti-globalization movement in her wake, contended against the constraints of global branding. The struggle for direction in cultural and economic globalization is still very much alive and ongoing.