Biography
Born as Jali Musa Jawara before adopting the name Djeli Moussa Diawara, this musician is the half-brother of the influential kora player Mory Kante and cousin of guitarist Kante Manfila, extending his family's longstanding musical tradition. Once a member of his brother's ensemble, he asserted an independent artistic direction across multiple innovative albums. Although the traditional music of West Africa forms the core of his approach, he has steadily integrated elements of electronic music, pop, jazz and hip hop. His debut release, Flamenkora, presented him performing solo on kora, guitar, percussion and vocals, illustrating the breadth of his abilities. The 1983 album Fote Mogobon stands as his masterwork; it received an A- in Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide and was hailed by music historian Charlie Gillett as having "achieved the status of a classic," later reappearing as Yaismika on the Hannibal label and as Direct From West Africa on the Go! Disc label. A native of Mali, he now lives in Abidjian, where governmental censorship exerts less influence on his music.
Albums
