Rokia Traoré‘s father was a diplomat so she spent most of her life living in places likes Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France, and Belgium. She isn’t a traditional musician coming from a griot family and grew-up listening to a variety of modern music. She’s new-school Mali. Since returning there, however, she’s become one the leading vocalists of the new generation of musicians. She fuses modern and traditional styles and mixes instruments not otherwise mixed.

Her singing and composition styles are all her own and yet they comes off as wonderfully Malian, wonderfully West African. Her latest album, Bowmboi, combines upper-Niger delta drumming with her distinct singing style and even some string ensemble work from the Kronos Quartet.

Rokia Traoré – Nienafing