Rokia Traoré (born 24th January 1974) is an award-winning Malian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Traoré was born in Kolokani, Mali as a member of the Bambara ethnic group. As her father was a diplomat, she travelled widely in her youth travelling to Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France and Belgium. As a result of this travel, she was exposed to a wide variety of influences. The Bambara also had a tradition of griot performing at weddings although members of the nobility such as Traoré are discouraged from performing as musicians.

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