This article addresses the cultural activity of Keïta Fodéba, a popular musician, poet, dramatist and latterly prominent member of the independent Guinean government. His experiences during the 1950s reflect emergent trends during this period of profound negotiation, in which the terms of the ‘postcolonial’ world were established. Fodéba was a formative figure in the emergence of Guinean National Culture but also played an important role in providing Guinea’s independence movement with a renewed impetus beyond Marxist ideology and demands for political equality. Using archival material that reveals French Metropolitan fears about his activities, we gain an insight into the networks of anti-colonial activism with which he engaged. Following Fodéba from his triumph on Broadway to his death at Camp Boiro, gives new perspectives on his challenging work and offers greater insight into the transfers and negotiations between Metropole, colony and beyond that characterised the decolonization process.