In Africa, the emphasis is on the common good of all, which is strongly reflected in its art forms. In music, this is reflected in the emphasis on making the occasion enjoyable for all involved. This criterion of excellence actually depends on the omnipresent notion of coolness. Robert Farris Thompson, in his article “An Aesthetic of the Cool,” notes that “the cooler a person becomes, the more ancestral he or she becomes.” (Thompson 1) He goes on to write that “self-control allows a person to transcend time and escape concerns. He can concentrate or she can concentrate on really important questions of social balance and aesthetic substance…” (Thompson 1) The African master musician therefore cannot make the occasion sweet unless he has a degree of detachment which allows him to understand better. nor can it modify and balance these forces to shape the event and ensure its success. In African societies, the role of coolness is not only limited to musical and artistic contexts, but constitutes a component of a prosperous society, because just as the master musician must detach himself to understand the social forces at play in a musical scene , Africans must also detach themselves from their individual roles in their daily lives to contribute and work for the common good of all in their social lives.