Fatoumata Diawara has played a mythical heroine on screen, toured the world with a giant street theatre troupe and sung with Gorillaz. At the heart of all of it is a guitar and a voice rooted in the Wassoulou music of southern Mali.
Born abroad
Diawara was born on 21 February 1982 in Côte d’Ivoire to Malian parents. She was raised in Mali, the home of her family.
An actress first
Before music, Diawara was an actress. She appeared in Cheick Oumar Sissoko’s 1999 film Genesis and in Dani Kouyaté’s 2001 film Sia, le rêve du python, in which she played the title role.
Royal de Luxe
After moving to France, she joined Royal de Luxe, the internationally known French street theatre troupe famous for giant puppets. She toured with them for several years.
Finding her voice
Diawara began to write songs and play guitar, drawing on Wassoulou traditions. She performed with Malian stars, including Oumou Sangaré and Cheick Tidiane Seck.
Fatou
Her EP Kanou came out in May 2011, followed by her debut album Fatou. Her songs addressed issues such as women’s rights, emigration and tradition, often in Bambara.
Fenfo
Her album Fenfo earned a Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album. She received a second nomination at the same ceremony, the 61st Grammy Awards, for Best Dance Recording for “Ultimatum” with the English band Disclosure.
Collaborations
Diawara has worked with a wide range of artists. She appeared on Gorillaz’s 2020 single “Désolé”, performed with AfroCubism, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou.
Timbuktu
She contributed to the film Timbuktu, Abderrahmane Sissako’s drama about jihadist occupation in northern Mali, which received an Academy Award nomination. The film’s subject was close to her concerns about Mali’s crisis.
Her themes
Diawara often sings about issues facing women in Mali, including forced marriage and female genital cutting, as well as migration and the crisis in the north of the country. She has described music as a way to speak about subjects that are hard to discuss openly.
Live
On stage, she plays guitar and dances, leading a band that mixes traditional instruments with electric guitar and drums. Her concerts in Europe and Africa are known for their energy.
Bridges
Diawara’s career moves between cinema, theatre, traditional Malian music and electronic pop. She treats those worlds as connected, and her songs carry the same message across all of them: tradition can travel without losing itself.
