Rokia Koné was born on January 1, 1984, in Dioro, near Segu, Mali. Her musical interest began as a young child in the courtyard of…
Artist Profiles: Rokia Koné
Tag: Mali
Artist Profiles: Al Bilali Soudan
Al Bilali Soudan is a Tuareg band from Mali that plays acoustic music rooted in tradition. The family members of Al Bilali Soudan from Timbuktu…
Mamoutou Dembélé, Emde
Mamoutou Dembélé, artistically known as known as Emde, was born into a family of musicians and storytellers in Sikasso, Mali. Since jelis or griots are…
Artist Profiles: Oumar Konate
Virtuoso guitarist and singer-songwriter Oumar Konate was born in Gao, northern Mali. At six, Oumar was leading his first band in the street in front…
Artist Profiles: Las Maravillas de Mali
Formed in the early 1960s, Las Maravillas de Mali became an iconic ensemble of the Afro-Cuban musical tradition, singing in Spanish, Bambara and French. In…
Artist Profiles: Malian Singer-Songwriter Rokia Traore
Rokia Traore was born in 1974 and comes from Bamako. Though-steeped in tradition, Rokia Traore’s music is thoroughly integrated into a contemporary sound, thanks to…
Artist Profiles: Salif Keita
A master of West African rhythms and credited as one of the founders of the Afropop genre, Salif Keita is world renowned for his unforgettable…
Artist Profiles: Super Rail Band
The legendary band that has been an institution in Mali since the late 1960s, Super Rail Band, mixes traditional African instruments with electric guitars, led…
Artist Profiles: Tartit
The men and women of Ensemble Tartit are Tuaregs residing in the Timbuktu and the Goundam region of the Niger River basin in Northern Mali.…
Artist Profiles: Desert Blues Band Tinariwen
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…