Prince Diabate hails from a prominent family of Malinke jeli musicians from Guinea, West Africa. He learned his art from his father at a very young age.
Breaking with tradition his father also taught Prince’s mother, Hadja Djeli Sira Cissoko, to play kora. The young boy became an exceptionally early starter, accompanying his parents to their concerts throughout West Africa.
When he was eight years old he came to the attention of former President Sekou Toure, who became his benefactor, enrolling him into the National Children’s Theatre in Conakry. Aged sixteen, he won first prize in an international kora competition in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and acquired his nickname, Prince Diabate, Prince of the Kora.
In 1986 he met the singer, Amara Sanoh, and the two started to perform together, touring in Africa, Europe, Canada and the US. They disbanded in 1998. A world class musician, Prince Diabat? has developed a distinctive style, characterized by a lightning-quick, percussive technique, coupled with a dynamic stage presence and he is often referred to as the ?Jimi Hendrix of the Kora.?
He recorded Lamaranaa in 1993; New Life in 2001 (Sunrise Records), which featured guest artists Michael Brook, Hassan Hakmoun and Andre Manga; and Djerelon (2006).
Moving easily between the classical traditions of Mand? music and modern fusion, Prince Diabate has incorporated reggae, rap, blues and funk into his work. The result is entirely his own: an original, powerful brand of twenty-first century kora music, which remains strongly rooted in traditional codes and references.
Prince is currently based in Los Angeles, where he performs with his acoustic and electric fusion bands, returning frequently to Guinea. In 2000, he was creative consultant and lead performer on an IBM commercial which aired during the Olympic Games in Sydney. In 2001, he recorded a track on Embrace the Chaos, the Grammy-winning CD from Ozomatli. In 2002, he was a World Music nominee in the LA Weekly Music Awards.
Discography:
Lamaranaa (1993)
New Life (Sunrise Records, 2001)
Djerelon (2006)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Thank you for this article about this great world musician. I was lucky to hear him and his group years ago at the Temple club in Santa Monica (which is no longer there sadly).