Noura Mint Seymali is a nationally beloved star and one of Mauritania's foremost musical emissaries, having begun her career at 13 as a supporting vocalist with her legendary stepmother, Dimi Mint Abba. Reared in a culture of collision where sounds from across the Sahara, the Magreb, and West Africa coalesce in the dynamic language of the Moorish griot, her success stems from her ability to combine a rare classical mastery and a griot's cultural authority with musical idioms that speak to the emergent realities of youth culture in West Africa and beyond. See her with Javelin at 9 p.m. Saturday, May. 2, at 3S Artspace, 310 Vaughan St., Portsmouth. Tickets are $18 ($16 for members). Call 766-3330 or visit www.3sarts.org.