Fula Good Stuff: Prince Diabaté and "Fulbe Fouta"

Today's random song, Fulbe Fouta, is performed by Prince Diabaté. griot from Guinea in West Africa, Diabaté's father was a kora player who broke tradition and also taught Diabaté's mother to play. Prince Diabaté gained proficiency by accompanying his parents to their concerts. His father initially disapproved of Diabaté's interest in music, but when former Guinean President Sekou Touré came to his hometown, the eight year old threw himself at the former president's feet with his kora and played a song for him. The former president was so touched that he became Diabaté's benefactor and enrolled him into the National Children's Theatre. At 16, Diabaté first heard cassettes of Jim Hendrix in the Ivory Coast, and was so inspired he entered an international kora competition where he won first prize and earned the nickname "Prince of the kora." He takes as inspiration traditional Mandingo and Malinké music, but he also borrows from reggae, rap, blues and funk. He has been called the "Jimi Hendrix of the kora," and he is responsible for creating the sound he calls Mandingo reggae. Fulbe Fouta can be found on his 2006 album Djerelon. The song is traditional of the Fula people.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://www.princediabate.com/; http://africanmusic.org/artists/pdiabate.html