Salif Keita, also known as the Golden Voice of Africa, was born in Djoliba, a small village in Mali not too far from the capitol Bamako. He was the third of thirteen children and he's also a descendent of Sunjata Keita, who in a.d. 1240 founded the Mandinka empire.
Salif didn't get an easy start in life. Being born an albino - a sign of bad luck - into the nobility, resulted in his being shunned by his family and
community. Sometimes, his mother even had to hide him to avoid attacks from suspicious crowds who called for his death. Another problem arose when he decided to become a musician. It was not considered respectable for someone of his noble status to sing for a living among the
ranks of the musician caste.
His musical career started in the local scene, he had borrowed his older brothers guitar and learned how to play and sing a few tunes. He regularly began to trek the 25 dusty kilometers to Bamako, where he would sing at the markets and in the bars. When his father discovered that he made a living out of this, he refused to speak to him for the next six years.
One day he was spotted singing in a nightclub and was offered a job with the Rail Band. This was a legendary band sponsored by the Mali government. For the next three years he worked six nights a week with this band, only Wednesdays off. Salif and the guitarplayer Kante Manfila became very good friends and after the three years they both left the band to join another group, Les Ambassadeurs. Then, Due to the current political situation in Mali, he then left and moved with the band to Abidjan, capitol of the Ivory Coast. The band changed the name to Les Ambassadeurs International. This band would mix traditional african music with western electric influences, developing a new style of music.
In 1977 Salif Keita was rewarded the National Order of Guinea by President Ahmed Sekou Toure. In return he made the album Mandjou, telling
the history of the Mali people. This album became a huge success and Salif got international recognition.
In 1984 he moved to Paris to reach a wider audience and his solo career started. Salif Keita still lives there today, in the Montreuil section of Paris
among the some 15,000 Malians. Salif Keitas music is a blend of many styles, everything from traditional griot music from his childhood to other african styles and western jazz and rock music, cuban music as well as music from Spanin and Portugal. His band is an 11 piece band that features singers, drums, percussion, bass, guitar and keyboards as well as some traditional african instruments such as the Djembe, the Kora and the Balafon.
