I sort of assumed that this thread was started with the assumption that people already knew what clave is. Indeed, it is the root of all of the Afro-Cuban music we hear. Clave provides the roadmap to it all. Afro-Cuban rhythms, having their roots in Africa naturally carry elements of West African music from places like Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Voire, etc... Clave can be heard in much of the traditional music of these countries as well, though not necessarily in the 4 different ways we hear it in Cuba, and the Carribean. Brazil being the closest South American country to West Africa, ended up with a bit of a different clave as well, which is most closely related to the clave you hear in Sabar drumming.
But yeah, U2 used it as well I guess. Maybe thats why Bono feels he owes so much to Africa.