Dramane Kone (surname also spelled Koné; born 1982) is a

master drummer In African drumming, the title of master drummer is given to a drummer who is well known by other masters for their high skill and knowledge. It is a title passed down from a master to their pupil, after they have learned all there is to know abou ...

and griot from

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

who rose to prominence in 1997 via his appearance (studying balafon at age 4) in the award-winning Taali Laafi Rosselini epic (20 years in the making) documentary film ''Great Great Grandparents Music'' that featured vignettes of Dramane Kone's griot family life in west Africa. He specializes in the goblet-shaped hand drum called ''

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

''. He is a member of the Dioula ethnic group.

Regional Origins

Dramane Kone was born in the capital city of

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

, in central

. He began studying music at the age of three (his family says practically from birth), under Dougoutigui Kone, elder ''djembefola'' (master djembe player) of Ouagadougou. Kone was educated in the ancient drumming traditions of west Africa, and was initiated into the history and music of the Manding (also spelled Mandingue) people. His later musical education included private studies with a number of lesser-known village elders, masters and griots. In discussions with writers, Kone teaches that griots are the spokespeople of the kings and are the originators of what we now call music. He said in an interview in November, 2010, "The king would come tell the griots his messages intended for the king's subjects in the form of a story. 'When you finish playing your music, assemble the people to receive my message in the form of the story I am about to tell you,' the king might say," as Kone relates a griot family's mission. Kone asserts that griots are useful to communicate both the king's official messages in his language, and additional musical messages via local languages as conveyed by skilled drummers as is well known in west African and other Earthly traditions.

Family Background, Early Travels

Dramane Kone is the son of well-known musical griot/master drummer Dougoutigui Kone. After their appearances in the Rosselini film, his father had moved the family to and from Mali, west Africa, and Dramane had begun to win national contests starting in 1996, the film was released in 1997, and in 1998 Dramane went on to perform as djembefola (djembe drummer) with the National Ballet of Burkina Faso (he also plays

Dunun Dunun (; plural dunun) (also spelled dundun or doundoun) is the generic name for a family of West African drums that have developed alongside the ''djembe'' in the Mande drum ensemble. A dunun is a rope-tuned cylindrical drum with a rawhid ...

, Balafon and Ngoni) accompanying dancers in the ballet and was then promoted to lead djembefola in the NBBF before migrating to the U.S. in 1999 (where he is a citizen and resides in California, and whence he teaches drumming and travels to performances around the world).

Other Travels and Notable Appearances

Kone's most recent appearance is as a percussionist in the song "Free" recorded by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

in August, 2013. He also appeared as a background musician along with Wonder in a Heineken beer TV ad recorded in November, 2012. Dramane Kone traveled widely in western Europe in 1997-1998. In the U.S. he has performed at hundreds of venues including convention centres, large theatres, small clubs, private colleges and public universities 1999-2010. In November, 2009 he taught a special public master class on djembe and dunun at the Toronto Centre for the Arts sponsored by the Burkina Faso consulate and a private association of Burkina Faso expatriates to benefit flood victims in his country of origin. He organized and performed with Djelia Kadi in a similar benefit event at Motherland Music, a retail African import music store in Los Angeles in January, 2010. He is also the brother of notable griot and master drummer

Mamadou Koné Mamadou Koné (born 25 December 1991) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian First Division B club Deinze. Club career Born in Bingerville, Koné was a youth product of local ES Bingerville. He moved to Rac ...

(d. 2012), and the two Koné brothers and their father played together in various traditional and popular music ensembles in Burkina Faso and elsewhere. Their griot lineage extends many generations. Koné resides in Santa Monica,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States.

Discography

Djelia Kadi (2003 CD) Traditional west African Drumming featuring Dramane's dance music group (title tr. "It's good to be a griot.").

Film/Video

• Great Great Grandparents Music (1997 Documentary Film) produced and directed by Taali Laafi Rosselini

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Role: Subject (music student). • Ballet Djelia Kadi with Dramane Koné, Master Drummer (2010 CD/DVD), produced by David Hilal and Miro (24 tracks: 12 audio, 12 video).

External links