Rokia Traoré ...
Rokia Traoré (born January 26, 1974) is a Victoires de la Musique award-winning Malian singer, songwriter and guitarist, born in Mali as a member of the Bambara ethnic group. Rokia Traore 's family was both a blessing and a curse for her musical career. Her father was a diplomat and she spent her childhood traveling several continents -- Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and France. There she was exposed to a variety of styles of music, from classical, jazz, and pop to Indian traditional composition. However, her family was also part of Mali's nobility, which has traditional caste prohibitions against its members making music. For her countryman Salif Keita , who was a member of the Manding people, it was an almost insurmountable burden. For Traore , though, the prohibitions were not as strict. The Bamana ethnic group did have a musical tradition of their own, especially among women, with performers called griots traveling to perform at weddings and gatherings. Tra