Ramata Diakite grew up in one of Africa's richest musical environments, the Wassoulou region of southern Mali. Renowned for its ancient spiritual traditions, magic, and hunters' lore, Wassoulou has also produced the bluesiest, funkiest traditional pop music in modern Mali. Ramata broke onto the scene in the wake of singer Oumou Sangare's spectacular rise in the early 90s. Oumou's bold fusion of roots and pop, and her willingness to sing honestly about the challenges facing African women marked a generation. In her own time, Ramata set out to go further, edging towards hip-hop on her first international album, and going on to create music unlike anything heard before in Mali or elsewhere. A soulful, standout singer in a nation of standout singers, Ramata is now poised to share her path-breaking music with a worldwide audience. - Excerpted from Banning Eyre's write-up of Ramata on Afropop.org
Full bio at Calabash Music
http://ramatadiakite.calabashmusic.com/
Discography on Mali K7's website.
http://www.mali-music.com/Cat/CatR/RamataDiakiteDisco.htm
Listen To (and download) all tracks on Djonya!
Ramata is now accepting booking inquiries for summer 2007 throughout the USA. Please send a message for more details.(Layout provided by Mike Industries .)