Rokia Traoré

Rokia Traoré (born 24. January 1974) is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist. Quotes I remember in 2003, I organized a strike. It was really a demonstration. Back then, we were still hoping it would be possible to clean the market of pirate products, and sell more regular cassettes and CDs. This way we would make more money for artists from their work. But what I see now, it no longer matters. This is not the purpose anymore. It's simply to find a new way to make a living from music. And the problem is that now, internationally, records don't make sense. They no longer make sense in terms of the economies. Even here. Everybody has seen it. The amount of records you sold 10 years ago now is cut in two. And you cannot hear good music that way. I'm sorry. We've talked a lot about Mali music during this crisis. And I say, "Well, this is a good thing. Because the rest of the world must be aware of what's happening in Mali. And if you can use music to create these conditions, it's a good thing.” But let's be careful. Before the crisis, music was in a very bad state in Mali. Absolutely. And if we do nothing against that, it's going to continue. I'm sorry. I used to be a fan before becoming a professional musician. I didn't know I would be able to become a professional musician, you know, this is still a dream coming true. When I get on stage and I perform for audience, I love that. But I still continue to listen to the others, and I really love the others’ music. Absolutely. But, there is still a lot to do. Yes, music in Mali is going to -- I don't know -- if we don't find solutions, that doesn't mean having big budgets to make things in Mali. No. I think it's also sociological, to understand how the audience wants music to be, and how they want to get music Rokia Traore: On "Beautiful Africa" and Complicated Mali,retrived on November 18, 2013 It came after weeks of stress and wondering about what was going to happen. I was tired, I was crying so many times, with no ability to sleep. But I had this obligation to continue working. I had to find the energy to keep everything going. I wrote the song in two days, and we recorded it on the sixth day we made the album. I didn't want to sing about my sadness, I wanted to keep positive and sing about how much I love this continent. I respect tradition but my modernity and my experience permits me to make it a certain way and show something more contemporary concerning Mali. Rokia Traoré: 'I wanted to keep positive and sing about how much I love Africa', retrieved on Fri 29 Mar 2013 It was very hard. I was in a bad psychological state because I was separated from my children, but at the same time it was a kind of privilege because I was learning things it’s not possible to learn without being in that situation. Everything is much more intense. Sharing a small space with someone – in a week you know more about them than their mother. You know everything: when she is happy, when she cries, when she goes to the toilet, when she has a shower. You see everything. It was difficult for me not knowing when it would all be over and I could be with my children again. The killers I met in jail didn’t scare me’: singer Rokia Traoré on why prison was ‘a privilege, By Robin Denselow, retrieved on 26 Feb 2025 External links Category:Women from Mali Category:people from Mali