BABA MD

“Music shapes me, it is part of who I am. Indispensable and inescapable, it is my passion and, for me, a mission.” Mamoutou Dembélé, aka BABA MD, embraces his griot status with dedication, enthusiasm and versatility. This 2019 Syli d’or winner generously sows the seeds of West African traditions with his Mandinka blues, pollinated with jazz, funk, rock and reggae.

A gifted multi-instrumentalist, he is equally at ease playing the tamani, djembe, calabash, dundun and acoustic guitar. He is also famous for creating his own instrument, the bahouinou, a 15-string instrument that falls somewhere between the kora and the kamelengoni (n’goni).