Oumou Sangaré was born in the Malian capital, Bamako, on 2 February 1968. Oumou revealed her musical talent at an early age, honing her vocal skills at the tender age of 5 at the local nursery school. The young girl would delight teachers and fellow classmates with traditional melodies from Wassoulou (her native region 120 km south of Bamako). Wassoulou was free of the strict rules which governed the caste system in the rest of Mali which meant Oumou was able to become a singer despite the fact she did not belong to a traditional line of jeli or griots. (Griots are key figures in traditional Mandingo society, fulfilling multiple roles as genealogists, storytellers, historians and 'praise singers').

When Oumou decided to launch a singing career, her family were firmly behind her. Her grandmother had been performing for years and had become something of an idol in Mali. As for Oumou's mother, Aminata Diakité, she willingly transmitted the ancient art of harmony, rhythm and melody to her daughter, taking her to local weddings and baptism parties. This formed an integral part of Oumou's musical education and the young girl soaked up every beat of the songs she heard there.

Oumou went on to make her public début at an early age, performing at a singing contest organised by different nursery schools. The contest was no small-scale affair, either. Oumou ended up singing at a sports stadium in front of a 3,000-strong audience!

The National Ensemble of Mali

Oumou also honed her live skills on the street, singing as she sold bottles of water. She put the handful of coins she earned for these early performances towards the housekeeping to help her mother who had been abandoned by her husband. The suffering Oumou witnessed in her childhood as the daughter of a neglected wife would fuel her later commitment to the cause of women's rights and her outspoken stance against polygamy. Meanwhile, Oumou was beginning to earn quite a reputation on the local wedding and baptism circuit. And this only confirmed her growing feeling that her future did not lie in the classroom!

Oumou went on to join the National Ensemble of Mali. But her talent was soon spotted by Bamba Dambele, veteran star of the Super Djata Band, and on his recommendation she was invited to perform with the percussion group Djoliba. Oumou toured extensively with the group and performed outside Mali for the first time in her career in 1986. When she returned to her homeland she began singing again at local weddings and baptisms, perfecting her mastery of the traditional Wassoulou repertoire with the aid of Amadou Ba Guindo.

Taking a stand against polygamy

But the real turning-point of Oumou's career came in the mid-80s when a producer spotted her vocal talent and whisked her off to Abidjan with a bunch of musicians. Oumou was reluctant to leave her homeland at the time, however. "It was really hard for me to leave my life on the streets," she says, "The guy who wanted me to record the album had to spend two years persuading me. He even had to buy me a car before I agreed!" Oumou finally came round to the idea of making an album and spent a week recording in the JBZ "Moussolou" ("Women") studio. Her album finally came out on the Syllart label in 1989, a year after it was originally recorded - owing to the temporary loss of the master tape. Marketed as a cassette, it proved to be a phenomenal hit with the public. And Oumou found herself transformed into a major star overnight.

Oumou went on to enjoy a hugely successful career, singing in Wassoulou n'ke (a variant of Bambara). Her songs have revolved around personal themes such as love, respect for the forest and the phenomenon of rural exodus. But the singer has also followed in the campaigning footsteps of her "elder sisters" Nahawa Doumbia and Coumba Sidibé, using her music to take a stand against polygamy, arranged marriages and the general exploitation of women. Female fans all the way from Mali to Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso have showered her with letters, supporting her brave stance. But Oumou has never been one to vaunt her rebel status. "I say what I feel like saying and I do things the way I want!" she says simply, flashing one of her broad, white-toothed grins.

International career

Oumou's performances at local weddings and baptisms are very much a thing of the past today. These days, the Malian star's appearances are limited to major music venues and concert halls. Meanwhile, Oumou’s career continues to go from strength to strength on the recording front. Her track record to date includes "Moussolou" (1989), "Ko Sira" (1993) and "Worotan" (1996), an album featuring James Brown's former sax-man Pee Wee Ellis and Nitin Sawhney. Oumou's fourth album, "Laban" – released exclusively as a cassette in Africa in 2001 – sold over 120,000 copies in Mali alone. In 2003, the Wassoulou diva went on to release "Oumou," a double album featuring a selection of her greatest hits and eight previously unreleased songs (including tracks from "Laban").

Oumou's career moved on to an international level in 1992/1993 after she signed to the UK label World Circuit. From this point on, Oumou metamorphosed into a 'world' star, exporting the traditional sound of Wassoulou as far afield as Japan, Canada, the United States and Morocco where she brought the house down at the Essaouira festival in 2002 (the same year she opened her hotel in Bamako). Oumou has also performed extensively on the European festival circuit.

Famed for her superb voice, her personal charisma and her queenly bearing, Oumou has made a major impact worldwide. In 2001, the Wassoulou diva went on to win the Unesco / International Council of Music Award for her contribution to "the enrichment and development of music and her work in promoting the cause of peace, international co-operation and understanding between peoples." Oumou has remained firmly attached to the cultural identity of her homeland throughout her career. Nevertheless she maintains that, "You have to know what's what when it comes to tradition and that means saving the good things at all cost, but throwing the rest away!"

Besides pioneering innovative sounds on the music front, the singer has also proved to be a canny business woman. In 2006, Oumou launched her own brand of "Oum Sang" SUVs, importing her cars from China and the car engines from Japan. The singer has also opened her own hotel-restaurant, the Hôtel Wassoulou, in Bamako, where she performs every Saturday night when in town.

2008: "Seya"

Oumou's new album, "Seya" (the title means "joy" in Wassoulou), hit record stores in February 2009, marking the twentieth year of her career. This new album mixed traditional Wassoulou rhythms and the funky sound of the kamel n'goni (youth harp) with electric guitars and squealing brass, Oumou's majestic vocals drawing the album's various threads together. "Seya" was honed to studio perfection by the Malian musician, arranger and producer Cheikh Tidiane Seck, who gave the album a smoother, slicker edge than her previous productions. "Seya" also featured contributions from fifty musicians including drummer Tony Allen and James Brown's former brass men Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis. Oumou continued to mine an openly militant vein in her songwriting, campaigning against polygamy and arranged marriages and standing up for women's rights. The singer dedicated her new album to the fashion designers and seamstresses of Bamako who create her extensive wardrobe of traditional robes.
 
On 1 April 2009, the "songbird of Wassoulou" brought the house down at L’Alhambra, in Paris, then embarked upon another European tour, assuring dates all the way from London and Amsterdam to Ljubljana and Vienna.

April 2009

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