Rokia Traoré

Rokia Traore encountered both advantages and obstacles in her path as a musician because of her upbringing. As the daughter of a diplomat, she moved across Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and France during her early years, absorbing classical, jazz, pop, and Indian traditional composition along the way. At the same time her lineage placed her within Mali’s nobility, whose caste rules traditionally barred members from performing music. Fellow Malian Salif Keita faced nearly insurmountable resistance from similar Manding customs, yet Traore encountered milder restrictions; the Bamana people maintained their own longstanding practice of music-making, particularly among women, through griots who sang at weddings and community events.

Her own approach diverged sharply from that griotte tradition. Rather than adopting their characteristic wailing delivery, Traore cultivated a smooth, gentle tone, while her spare arrangements incorporated the balafon, n’goni, and kora alongside acoustic guitar and electric bass. These elements surfaced on her 1998 debut Mouneissa and reached fuller expression on the 2000 album Wanita. For the latter project she composed and produced every track herself, overriding a male engineer who doubted that a young woman could manage the recording process; the finished work revealed a singular voice that fused innovation with heritage.

Bowmboï followed in 2003, marking her first release on Nonesuch and her first collaboration with co-producers Judith Sherman and Thomas Weill, for which she also directed all band arrangements. In 2008 she issued Tchamantché on UNI Jazz in Europe. Five years later she returned with Beautiful Africa, her initial foray into rock music; produced by John Parish of PJ Harvey, the album appeared in April 2013. Their second joint effort, Né So, arrived in 2016 and further expanded her sonic range, featuring guest contributions from John Paul Jones, Toni Morrison, and Devendra Banhart together with her longtime ngoni player Mamah Diabaté.