Assitan Keïta, popularly known as Mamani Keïta (born 20 October 1965) is a singer and musician from

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. "Mamani" literally means "grandmother". She was born in

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

, grew up speaking Bambara, and was a backup singer for

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village of Djolib ...

. She is best known in English speaking countries for her album with

Marc Minelli Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...

, ''Electro Bamako''. She is credited on four tracks of the soundtrack album of the French animated film ''

Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages ''Kirikou and the Wild Beasts'' (French: ''Kirikou et les Bêtes sauvages'') is a 2005 French animated feature film. It premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May and, unlike its predecessor, received only festival screenings in all Engl ...

'' (2005). Mamani Keita released her second album entitled '' Yéléma'' in 2006 and ''Gagner l'Argent Français'' in 2011. Both albums were produced and composed by French

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

Nicolas Repac Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

Discography

*''Electro Bamako'' (2002, Universal Jazz) *''Yelema'' (2006,

No Format! No Format! (also written as NØ FØRMAT!) is an independent record label based in Paris founded in 2004 by Laurent Bizot, later joined in 2007 by Thibaut Mullings. The primary focus of the label was to invest in original musical projects, whet ...

) *''Gagner l'Argent Français'' (2011, No Format!) *''Kanou'' (2014, World Village)

References

21st-century Malian women singers Living people 1965 births Musicians from Bamako 20th-century Malian women singers {{Africa-singer-stub