Tinariwen (originally Taghreft Tinariwen, or “edification of the lands”) became known for vocalizing the political plight of endangered nomads. Their music spoke to the Tuareg…
Artist Profiles: Desert Blues Band Tinariwen
Category: Artist Profiles
Artist Profiles: Vieux Farka Toure
Growing up, Vieux Farka Touré played calabash (a unique-sounding dried gourd drum used in Mali) and other percussion, but his father, famed guitarist Ali Farka…
Artist Profiles: Yacouba Sissoko
Yacouba Sissoko is a master kora player from the jeli tradition. He was born in Kita, Mali. His grandfather, Samakoun Tounkara, began teaching Yacouba when…
Artist Profiles: Yaya Diallo
Yaya Diallo is a traditional musician from Mali, West Africa. He is also a music and dance instructor, author, and workshop leader. His 1980 album…
Artist Profiles: Oumou Sangare
Oumou Sangare was born in Bamako in 1968, to parents who migrated to Mali’s capital city from the region south of the Niger River known…
Artist Profiles: Nahawa Doumbia
Nahawa Doumbia is one of the most popular singers from the Wassulu region in South Mali. She speaks to the younger generation of West Africa…
Artist Profiles: Madina N’Diaye
Led by her love for Manding tunes, Madina N’Diaye was the only Malian woman on stage accompanied by a kora, one of the most emblematic…
Artist Profiles: Issa Bagayogo
Issa Bagayogo was known as “Techno Issa” in his homeland of Mali. He topped the charts in 2002 with Timbuktu, an album that spawned a…
Artist Profiles: Habib Koité
Habib Koité comes from a great line of Malian Khassonké jalis. He studied music for four years at the National Institute of Arts (NIA) in…
Artist Profiles: Ballake Sissoko
The sound of Ballake Sissoko’s 21-string kora identifies him, along with Toumani Diabate, as one of the best kora players of a new generation of…