Search - Aminata Kamissoko :: Malamine

Aminata Kamissoko, daughter of praise singer Kandia Diabate, is destined to be one of West Africa's great female singers. After a marriage at age 16, Kamissoko traveled to Ivory Coast and Senegal, apprenticing as a singer in many bands and developing a wider repertoire and stylistic influence--never abandoning her traditional heritage as a jali but never a prisoner to it, either. The album centers on the powerful title track, a tribute to her adoptive son Lamine (also the kora player on the album). Kamissoko, who could not bear children, takes a huge step forward to proclaim her love of her son, in the process shattering a taboo in a society that values motherhood. This and the other songs on the album are delivered over a simple, mostly traditional musical backing of kora and percussion, with some guitar from the fluid hands of Zou Diarra. --Louis Gibson