Crossword Genius

African uplifting song penned by fallen angel (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

algerian

'african' is the definition.
(Algerian is an example)

'uplifting song penned by fallen angel' is the wordplay.
'uplifting' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'song' becomes 'air' (air can mean a piece of music).
'penned by' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are penned in).
'fallen' indicates anagramming the letters.
'air' backwards is 'ria'.
'angel' with letters rearranged gives 'algen'.
'ria' placed into 'algen' is 'ALGERIAN'.

(Other definitions for algerian that I've seen before include "Native of Oran" , "Native of a North African country" , "Foreign" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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