Rokia Traoré

About Rokia Traoré

Born into a well-educated Malian family, Rokia Traoré is the daughter of diplomat and has lived everywhere from North Africa to the Middle East to Europe, as well as in the Malian capital, Bamako, where she was once a member of a high school rap group. In 1996, she appeared on Mali’s foremost music TV program with two songs, “Finini” and “Mouineïssa,” which became local hits and were later included on her debut album.

Her latest album, Tchamantché stems from a simple inspiration—the sound of an old Gretsch guitar—and employs a traditional pop rhythm section. The instrumentation is often sparse, contrasting the Gretsch or the classic Silvertone guitar with subtle percussion effects provided by human beat box and hip-hop artist Sly Johnson, or the n’goni, the tiny, sharp-edged West African lute that has always been an integral part of her sound, played alongside the Western classical harp.

Traoré composed all the songs on Tchamantché, with the exception of the Billie Holiday classic “The Man I Love,” a song she first sang in a duet with Dianne Reeves during the Billie and Me tour in 2005. Known for her outspoken lyrics, Traoré covers a variety of topics on her new record. She discusses the problem of illegal immigration from Africa to Europe in “Tounka,” and, in “Dounia,” reminds Malians that they should be proud of the glories of their past. “Zen” is a song about having the courage to do nothing, and “Yorodjan” was written in praise of African street parties.

Through the years, Traoré continued to return to Mali, remaining connected to the history and culture of the country. But if Traoré’s Malian roots are audible in her music, so too is the iconoclastic spirit in which she incorporates them without adhering to any traditional musical model.

On Bowmboï, her breakthrough 2004 release, Traoré—who is fluent in several languages—sings exclusively in her native Bamanan, a language she chose because its particular richness in metaphor and texture allows her to write and sing in a distinctive new way. As she told The Daily Telegraph, “I respect what [traditional praise-singers] do, but I’ve never wanted to compete with them. I don’t have their traditional training and background. I’m more interested in inventing a new way of singing.” According to TheTimes (UK), she reaches this goal on Bowmboï: “Her voice transforms everything it touches. Sometimes caressing, sometimes keening, it is as agile as some rare desert bird.”

Traoré’s acclaim has continually grown since even before the release of her debut album. In 1997, she won the Radio France International prize for African Discovery of the Year before releasing her 1998 debut Mouineïssa to overwhelming praise. Traoré’s second album, Wanita, further raised her critical profile. Nominated for a BBC World Music Award, the album was chosen as the best folk/roots/world release of 2000 in the fRoots magazine critics poll, and Billboard called it “one of the finest records issued anywhere this year.” Wanita also made numerous Best of 2000 lists, including that of The New York Times. In a continuing celebration of an evolving performer and songwriter, the same panel of journalists that awarded Wanita the 2000 award for best folk/roots/world release deemed Bowmboï the No. 1 World Music Album of 2003 in the BBC Critics’ Poll. She is perhaps most celebrated for her live shows, which Time Out London says are “arguably the most exciting, most thrilling live African music show around.” The Guardian said one: “The audience leave in no doubt that this was one of the best shows of the year, and that they have just had the honour of witnessing a true star in the making.”