Sidiki Diabaté: The new pop star of Mali

From one generation to another one in the Western African nation of Mali, the singer and Kora player, Sidiki Diabaté , who is the son of the famous Malian musician, Toumani Diabate.

Sidiki has come into his own as the new king of the traditonal ancient Instrument, the kora, a traditional guitar built from a large calabash, or squash, that has been cut in half and dried out. The kora usually has 21 strings. Toumani Diabate is the keeper of the legacy of the Kora, an instrument his father helped make famous. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz and other international styles. Toumani Diabate’s cultural heritage traces back to a long family tradition of kora players including his father Sidiki, who recorded the first ever Kora album in 1970.

Sidiki’s music inspired a generation of young African musicians, including his son. The Diabate family’s oral tradition includes 70 generations of musicians in a patrilineal line. And now his son, Toumani, leads the Symmetric Orchestra, composed of musicians (mostly traditional griots, the oral historians and poets of West African culture) from the across the old Mande Empire of West Africa. They play a of mix traditional musical instruments including the kora , the djembe, the balafon, and the balombatto as well as modern ones like guitar and electronic keyboard.

Today in Mali, From Toumani Diabate to his son, Sidiki Diabate , the cultural heritage of the kora lives on.

Sidiki Diabate started playing at an early age. Malians and westerners know him as the young piano player and bit maker for street hip –hop, and RNB singer in Mali. Malians used to see him with hip hop singers during concerts in Bamako and around Mali, and on the international stage.

In Mali, the music industry is one of the most important aspects of national life and culture because Mali is a poor country, but rich in culture. Our culture, our music and poetry, this is one thing absolutely all of us have. This culture is what Sidiki Diabate celebrates in his music, reflecting the life of the new Malian generation of the 21st century.

In song, “The Blessing of Parents,” he highlights that his parents always encouraged him and blessed him to never give up even as other people discouraged him. In reference to the mother’s role in a family, he says : “If a woman is patient the son will never suffer but always thrive”.

And for all of us there is plenty of discouragement out there, especially in this new digital age. It’s important to highlight those Internet communication technologies and social media really changed the life of the new generation of Mali in this highly conservative, traditional country. Social media platforms are where some people charm each other, gossip, and date online.

According to Sidiki diabate, social media like Facebook, Viber, Whatsup and other platforms destroy couples. Those sites encourage young people to gossip with and about each other and spend their time not going to school to follow courses.

In the song “Pardon Baby” he explains to his girlfriend how loves with an artist and star is difficult and complicated today because everybody loves a star. But he tells her, in the song, that he is loyal to her and loves her and he can’t live without her.

In the song “C’est ma vie,”( it’s my life) Sidiki Diabate explains to young Malians the beauty of love, the beauty of life and how young people are living their love. He describes Facebook as “NAFIYABOUGOU”, which, in English, means “gossip city.” And he’s not being complimentary of what Facebook and Viber and what he sees on social media. He says that whenever he connects to Facebook or Viber he notices that people talk about each other’s love lives and he concludes that today people are very bad. If they see that you are in a true love they will do their best to destroy your love.

He explains that Bamako is cool because "everybody knows everybody’s life because Viber sent proof of your love and Facebook shares this as well." So, couples are getting hurt and get break up all the time. He explains to his lover that Viber gossipers will never fix a broken heart. In the digital age some people around the world learn how to survive and thrive while others use gossip via social media to destroy lives.

The song “TERRIYA” is a song that captivated my heart and my soul. Here he explains the love of friendship and how a true friend stays a friend up to the end of life. He also explains to Malian youth that your true friend is like your brother. Whenever you talk about friendship you talk about brotherhood, you talk about helping each other. You talk about understanding and protecting each other. He explains the beauty and the true values of friendship that are hard to find in today’s life in Mali.

For more information about Sidiki Diabete, visit his Official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Sidiki-Diabate-Officiel-426834007439353/