Posted by "ibognini" Feb 2010 .
"Dounia"
..." Traore was born in the Beledougou region of Mali in 1974. Her father was a diplomat, and consequently she and her family traveled extensively, and lived in Belgium, France, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Mali's capital, Bamako. Throughout her youth Traore's transient lifestyle made it difficult for her to fit in with her peers, and she was neither fully part of her African nor her European classmates' worlds. Her father, Mamadou, played the saxophone and introduced Traore to such jazz artists as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. Traore found solace in music and recalled to Renee Graham in a Boston Globe interview, "I was a very solitary child.... Music was therapy for me. I was writing lyrics even before I realized I wanted to be a professional singer.".... ( more )
MusicianGuide.com
