Malima Koné—African Reggae Rising Star

Malima Koné, African Reggae Rising Star Today we are honored to have a wonderful surprise: a brief introduction to Malima Koné—a bright rising star artist who brings together the ancient music and oral traditions of West Africa, in fusion with Reggae and World music. Malima Koné, African Reggae singer-songwriter, guitarist, master jembe drummer and master bala xylophonist, has recently returned to the country of his birth to create a new band in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in the heart of West Africa. Malima sings in five languages: Bwamu, Jula, Mòoré, English & French. In 1986 filmmaker Taale Laafi Rosellini filmed Malima when he was breaking out on a jembe drum and a mini bala xylophone—at two years of age, with his brother Youssou! Those scenes are captured forever in the award-winning feature documentary on the Koné family, Great Great Great Grandparents' Music—filmed over a span of two decades in West Africa. The DVD of the film is available through the African Family Film Foundation at http://www.africanfamily.org/films/grandparents/ Now at 36, Malima is becoming quite the sensation, performing in California, Japan and now again in West Africa. On July 31, 2021 Malima is releasing his new single "Somebody".  Malima's Father, Dougoutigi Koné, and Taale met in Africa in 1968 when Dougoutigi and his two brothers Bakary and Jeri—all phenomenal musicians—had left their village in Mali to begin a new life in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. The previous year was the beginning of the 7-year drought that devastated the Sahelian region of Africa, severely impacting millions of Africans. The Koné brothers fired up the community with their drumming and bala xylophone performances. The Kone family are born into the tradition of jeli, also known as griot. The jeli are the carriers of the oral tradition and history of the peoples of West Africa. The Koné family soon became legendary. And the legend continues, now with Dougoutigi's multi-talented children breaking out all across the planet!