Fatoumata Diawara is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France.
15 Facts About Fatoumata Diawara
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Fatoumata Diawara later launched a career in music, collaborating with numerous artists and releasing three studio albums beginning with 2011 debut Fatou.
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Fatoumata Diawara was born in 1982 in the Ivory Coast to Malian parents.
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When she was eighteen, Fatoumata Diawara moved to France to pursue acting.
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Fatoumata Diawara briefly returned to Mali for a film role, but fled back to Paris to avoid being coerced into marriage by her family.
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Fatoumata Diawara played a leading role in the musical Kirikou et Karaba.
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Simultaneously with pursuing her musical career, Fatoumata Diawara has continued her cinematic activities, with numerous roles, appearances, and musical input in multiple feature films, including in Timbuktu, which won seven Cesar Award nods and an Academy Award nomination in 2014.
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Fatoumata Diawara took up the guitar and began composing her own material, writing songs that blend Wassoulou traditions of southern Mali with international influences.
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Fatoumata Diawara has said that she is "the first female solo electric guitar player in Mali".
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Fatoumata Diawara has performed or recorded with Malian and international stars such as Cheick Tidiane Seck, Oumou Sangare, AfroCubism, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and the Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou.
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Fatoumata Diawara wrote every song on her debut album Fatou from World Circuit Records that released in September 2011.
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Fatoumata Diawara has spent recent years touring the world, with a landmark performance for the English-speaking public at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival.
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Fatoumata Diawara was featured in the 2020 Gorillaz single "Desole", which later appeared on their album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez.
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Fatoumata Diawara performed a Tiny Desk home concert in February 2022.
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Fatoumata Diawara received two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for Best World Music Album for her album Fenfo and Best Dance Recording for "Ultimatum" in which she was featured with the English band Disclosure.