Fatoumata Diawara

Fatoumata Diawara Pic

Fatoumata Diawara is a singer, songwriter and actress from Mali. She was born in 1982 and is considered one of the prime female musicians of her country.

During the first years of her childhood, Fatoumata Diawara lived with her parents in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. Her parents had a dance troupe in which she performed as a child. Her father also taught her to play guitar. Following the tragic death of an elder sister, she was sent to Bamako in Mali to live with an aunt who subsequently adopted her, and where she spent the rest of her childhood.

Through her aunt, an actress, Fatoumata Diawara gained access to the theatre. In 1997 she was discovered by Malian moviemaker Cheick Oumar Sissoko, who engaged her for the leading female role in his film ''La Genèse'' (winner of the prize "Un Certain Regard" at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999). In 1998 she went to France to the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. She made several movies, including ''Sìa: Le Rêve du python'', which won the FESPACO Jury Prize in 2001.

In 2002 Fatoumata Diawara fled from a forced marriage to her cousin to join the street theatre troupe Royal de Luxe of Nantes and spent six years in Truppe1. In November 2006 she was engaged for the female starring role at the Sahel Opera in Bamako. During that period she was noticed by Malian musician Cheick Tidiane Seck, and over the following years collaborated as a guest singer on diverse album productions. She sang on the albums of Dee Dee Bridgewater (Red Earth), Oumou Sangaré (Seya) and Herbie Hancock (The Imagine Project).

In 2011 the EP ''Kanou'' was released, the first under her own name. Her debut album ''Fatou'' followed that same year. Both productions were released on the world music label World Circuit and achieved international acclaim. In her music Fatoumata Diawara is inspired by the traditional Wassoulou music of her homeland, but also by modern rhythms and arrangements. Influences of jazz and blues are also reflected in her music. Amongst a number of other productions was the joint live album ''At Home'' with Cuban musician Roberto Fonseca, which came out in 2015.

Fatoumata Diawara is exceptionally in demand as a live musician. In addition to a great number of European performances, her schedule has already taken her to South America, Asia and Australia, as well as several trips to the USA, where as part of the Clinton Global Initiative she performed alongside The Roots and other musicians in New York in September 2013.

Apart from her acting and musical activities, Fatoumata Diawara is also frequently involved in political projects. She campaigned against female genital mutilation in her home country of Mali, and headed among other things the production of a music video in 2012 against the occupation of the northern part of the country by jihadists. For her commitment in Mali and her exceptional musical talent, she received the ''Africa Festival Award'' at the Africa Festival in Wurzburg in 2013.

In 2018 Fatoumata Diawara released her second and up to now latest solo album entitled ''Fenfo''. The album was produced by renowned French guitarist and rock musician Matthieu Chedid. With that album, Fatoumata Diawara was able to build directly on her previous successes to the delight of both critics and audiences worldwide.