Djely Tapa

This is one artist you won’t want to miss! With her powerful, majestic voice, at times reaching a fiery pitch, her impassioned delivery and graceful gestures, Djely Tapa has become the new voice of mandinka music.

Daughter of the celebrated Kandia Kouyaté, Djely descends from a long line of illustrious griots and has earned several Juno awards, including for Global Music Album of the Year, 2025. Through her music, she explores a language that looks outwards and towards the future, synthesizing her heritage and afro-futuristic aspirations in a universe where traditional rhythms mingle with Malian blues and electro.

At times ethereal, at others dangerously danceable, her songs, which pay homage to women and to Africanness, are loaded with metaphor and imbued with wisdom. She has collaborated with the likes of Tiken Jah Fakoly and Vieux Farka Touré, who also features on her 2024 album "Dankoroba" (Disques Nuits d’Afrique).