Listen to Traoré play "Sikey." Born in Mali to a diplomatic family, Traoré has traveled throughout the world, picking up pieces of herself along the way. That mix of origins is reflected in her music, ...

Rokia Traoré: world music is 'too many things in a small place' She came to music via an unconventional route, following her family around the world and back, from Brussels to Israel, Algeria to Saudi ...

When war broke out in the West African nation of Mali last year, one of the targets was that country's ancient music tradition. As Islamist rebels occupied northern Mali, they banned music and shut ...

On this week's episode of All Songs Considered, co-host Bob Boilen basks in the glory of his return by making fellow co-host Robin Hilton enjoy the musings of a box that when opened plays affirming ...

On "Kélé Mandi," one of the simplest and most stirring songs on her new album, Bowmboï, Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré issues a heartfelt plea: "I bring what makes me different to you / Give me ...

“Tchamantche” is a quiet, subdued album whose genius lies in each song’s arrangement, the combination of modern and traditional elements and the intensity of Rokia Traore’s voice. Part griot and part ...

This four-disc box of ’80s college rock sounds like its compilers sequenced it by throwing the I Ching. How to follow the Smiths’ “This Charming Man,” you might wonder? Simple: change! To ...

Rokia Traore's career belies the notion that you can't go home again. The 30-year-old singer was born in Mali but spent most of her formative years in Europe with her diplomatically connected family - ...

As the daughter of a Malian diplomat, Rokia Traoré grew up hopping around the globe, moving from Belgium and France to Algeria and Saudi Arabia. But nothing quite prepared her for a sojourn to the ...

This is the second of her collaborations with producer John Parrish, the Bristol-based musician who has been both inspiration and studio helpmate to PJ Harvey for many years. Thankfully, and unlike ...

Oladipo Salimonu reviews superb London performances by Malian singers Oumou Sangaré at the Africa Utopia festival and Rokia Traoré in a collaboration with Toni Morrison Weeks after images went around ...

Rokia Traoré's latest album is titled Beautiful Africa. When war broke out in the West African nation of Mali last year, one of the targets was that country's ancient music tradition. As Islamist ...