Actress and singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara appeared on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” series earlier this month. The grammy-nominated singer performed three songs with her bandmates in Como, Italy. The “home-concert” recording racked up over 150,000 views in its first two weeks.
No stranger to the limelight, Diawara has previously performed at the world-famous Glastonbury Festival. She’s also sung alongside the likes of Paul McCartney and Damon Albarn, and has collaborated with Gorillaz and Disclosure. She won a Grammy Nomination for Best Dance Recording for her work with Disclosure.
Alongside her music, Diawara also acts. She starred in the critically acclaimed Timbuktu, which won seven César Award nods and an Academy Award nomination in 2014.
Fatoumata Diawara’s music and film career
After moving to France from Mali to pursue acting, Diawara appeared in Genesis (1999), a film about the book in the Bible. She then starred in the award-winning 2001 film Sia, le rêve du python. Diawara also won a lead-role in the musical Kirikou et Karaba and joined the world-renowned theater troupe Royal de Luxe.
In 2011, Diawara released her debut album Fatou. Sung primarily in Bambara, the national language of Mali, the Sunday Times named it the no.1 world music album of 2011. The album builds upon the Wassoulou genre of music, known for its songs of advice and passionate female vocals. In 2012, Diawara contributed to a campaign called 30 Songs/30 Days in support of feminist project Half the Sky.
The last few years have seen Diawara tour the world with her music. Amongst many European gigs, she has also performed in South America, Asia and Australia. Diawara has shared the stage with artists such as Nicolas Jaar and fellow Malian stars Rokia Traoré and Amadou & Mariam. Her 2018 album Fenfo won a Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album.
Fatoumata Diawara: Ivory Coast to France
Born in the Ivory Coast to Malian parents, Diawara performed in her father’s dance troupe as a child. Her parents sent her back to Mali as a teenager, where she kickstarted her acting career at 14, starring in popular West African films. Diawara left Mali for France at the age of eighteen for a stage role. After a brief spell back in Mali for a film, she fled back to Paris to escape a forced marriage.
Diawara later took up the guitar, blending international influences with the Wassoulou tradition from Mali. Her songs address issues surrounding the struggles of African women, the trauma of emigration and life under religious fundamentalism.
Music holds a powerful moral and cultural significance in Mali. “Music is at the heart of everything,” Diawara explains. “When a couple is divorcing, to calm it one must call a griot to intervene with song to say don’t separate for the children. With beautiful voices, people have heard messages better than with talk.”
Fatoumata Diawara on NPR’s “Tiny Desk”
Diawara has now brought her passionate sound to NPR’s much loved “Tiny Desk” series. With an extremely positive response, her music has now reached a new and impressed audience. Performing three songs with her bandmates, she touches on a variety of themes and styles all firmly rooted in Wassoulou.
Featuring such artists as Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift, Kurt Vile and the Wu Tang Clan, “Tiny Desk” showcases a broad range of talent. A music fan favorite, fans get to see their most loved artists perform their songs in an intimate setting.
Check out the concert here and follow Fatoumata Diawara on Instagram for all her latest news.
