Dobet Gnahoré

Early life

A self-taught musician, who incorporates elements of song, dance, percussion and theatre into her repertoire, she is the daughter of percussionist Boni Ngahoré, who performs with her. She settled in Marseille in 1999 due to the Civil War.

Career

In France, Gnahoré met guitarist Colin Laroche de Féline and decided to form a band, Na Afriki. It consists of mainly French and Tunisian musicians, who can accompany with the sanza, the balafon, the calebasse and bongos. The group toured Congo, Gabon, Chad and Equatorial Guinea in the 2000s, and aspects of music from a number of Africa countries are evident, including Cameroonian bikutsi, Congolese and East African rumba and Manding music, alongside reggae. Her lyrics often deal with pressing social issues, including the importance of family and AIDS. She can sing in seven different languages. Her music ranges from "delicate ballads to upbeat African grooves".

In 2004, Gnahoré released her debut album Ano Neko ('let's create together'). She was a nominee at the 2006 World music (Awards) for Newcomer and in 2010 she shared an award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the song “Pearls” with India.Arie at the 52nd Grammy Awards.

Albums