Balla Tounkara is a
kora player and singer from
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 井仆不丐仆不五 丐中五, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, 堿堭堜 塈, Jumh贖riyyt Ml蘋 is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
.
He was born in Mali into a family of ''
griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''dj矇li'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
''s, who traditionally played music to the kings of the
Malian Empire
The Mali Empire (Manding: ''Mand矇''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, 塈, Ml ...
in their royal court. He started to learn the kora as a child.
Tounkara has released many albums and plays both solo and with a group called Groupe Spirite. He moved to the
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 ...
in 1996 and now lives in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
[ ]
References
Malian Kora players
20th-century Malian male singers
Malian emigrants to the United States
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Malian male singers
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