Lerie Sankofa

“Percussions, dance, singing and, here, the handpan (a harmonic metal percussive instrument): Lerie Sankofa masters all these arts with such ease that she could easily make others jealous. But most of all, she leaves her listeners in awe.” (RFI, 2024)

With focused determination, Lerie began drumming and singing in choirs at an early age. She went on to hone her skills at the Institut National des Arts et de l’Action Culturelle and the reputable Village Ki-Yi arts centre in Abidjan. At the 2023 Jeux de la Francophonie, she won Bronze and was the 2024 MASA winner of the “Prix Henriette Dagri Diabaté de la création feminine.” Her afrolight music, in which you can feel the magic of Africa’s forests and savannahs, features the ahoko, traditional instrument of the Baule people, combined with modern influences such as reggae, coupé-décalé, even slam and rap.

With a presence as graceful as it is passionate, a voice as powerful as her drumming, Lerie sings in Guro, Malinké and French as she celebrates unity and dialogue among peoples.