Play Habib Koité & Bamada Radio

Habib Koité & Bamada

On Tour

601,795 plays (105,907 listeners)

41 shouts

Add to my Library Share

Mali

Malian guitarist Habib Koité is one of Africa’s most popular and recognized musicians.

Habib Koité was born in 1958 in Thiès, a Senegalese town situated on the railway line connecting Dakar to Niger, where his father worked on the construction of the tracks. Six months after his birth, the Koité family returned to the regional capital of west Mali, Kayes, and then to Bamako. Habib comes from a noble line of Khassonké griots, traditional troubadors who provide wit, wisdom and musical entertainment at social gatherings and special events. Habib grew up surrounded by seventeen brothers and sisters, and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother. He inherited his passion for music from his paternal grandfather who played the kamele n’goni, a traditional four-stringed instrument associated with hunters from the Wassolou region of Mali. “Nobody really taught me to sing or to play the guitar,” explains Habib, “I watched my parents, and it washed off on me.”

Habib was headed for a career as an engineer, but on the insistence of his uncle, who recognized Habib’s musical talent, he enrolled at the National Institute of Arts (INA) in Bamako, Mali. In 1978, after only six months, he was made conductor of INA Star, the school’s prestigious band. He studied music for four years, graduating at the top of his class in 1982. (In fact his talent was so impressive, that upon graduation, the INA hired him as a guitar teacher).
Read more… Edit

Top Albums

See more

Top Tracks

1  
663
2  
640
3 Play
105
4 Play
86
5 Play
75
5 Play
75
7 Play
73
8 Play
71
9 Play
64
10 Play
62
11 Play
61
12 Play
60
13 Play
Mali Ba full track
58
14 Play
Fimani full track
42
15 Play
Titati full track
41
See more

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).
See all 41 shouts

Videos

Events

Add event See more

News

Geo Sessions: Habib Koite

13 Apr 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/habibkoite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLfSO1lCJVs Hey guys- National Geographic just released this live studio episode of Geo Sessions featuring Habib Koite and Bamada. Check it out!

Add comment

Listeners

See more

Recent Activity

Related Journals

See more

More Information

Links
Band Members
Labels