Fatoumata Diawara (born 1982 in Ivory Coast) is a Malian singer-songwriter and multiple Grammy Award nominee currently living in France. She received two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for Best World Music Album for her album Fenfo and Best Dance Recording for Ultimatum featuring English band Disclosure. Born in the Ivory Coast to Malian parents, Diawara moved to France to pursue acting, appearing in Cheick Oumar Sissoko’s 1999 feature film Genesis, Dani Kouyaté’s popular 2001 film Sia, le rêve du python, in the internationally renowned street theatre troupe Royal de Luxe, and played a leading role in the musical Kirikou et Karaba.[1] She later took up the guitar and began composing her own material, writing songs that blend Wassoulou traditions of southern Mali with international influences.[2] Noted for her “sensuous voice,”[3] she has performed or recorded with Malian and international greats such as Cheick Tidiane Seck, Oumou Sangaré, AfroCubism, Dee Dee Bridgewater (on Red Earth: A Malian Journey),[6] and the Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou.[7] The EP Kanou was released May 9, 2011, and her debut album Fatou from World Circuit Records was released in September 2011.[8] (Nonesuch Records released the Kanou EP digitally in North America on September 27, 2011, and the album Fatou on August 28, 2012.)[9] In September 2012, she featured in a campaign called “30 Songs / 30 Days” to support Half the Sky, a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book.[10] September 2012 also saw her board the Africa Express Train with Damon Albarn, Rokia Traoré, Baaba Maal, Amadou & Mariam, Nicolas Jaar, and the Noisettes, amongst many others. The show culminated in a 4.5k venue in Kings Cross where Fatoumata performed with Paul McCartney.
