A member of the Keita royal family of Mali, Salif Keita is a singer, songwriter and activist who has established himself as the “Golden Voice of Africa” over a long and acclaimed career. Not just an icon of African music, Salif has built his platform against the odds and now uses it to inspire and educate, both inside and beyond the borders of the continent. Qwest TV is honored to present him as our latest Guest Curator.
Born in 1949 from a line of warrior princes in the village of Djoliba, Keita was cast out of his family at an early age and ostracized by the local community who considered his albinism a bad omen (as is the case in Mandinka culture and native Mali). Growing up in an environment where harmful beliefs about albinism are perpetuated had a profound effect on his outlook: Salif needed to find self-worth from within and it has helped make him the man he is today.
In 1967 he left for Bamako to join a government-sponsored band and it proved the start of a grand and liberating musical adventure. With his next group, Les Ambassadeurs, he fled the unrest in Mali for the Ivory Coast and garnered a strong international reputation. His voice was beginning to shine through – a rich, dramatic and soulful tone put to good use through poetic lyrics and powerful arrangements.
But it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that more people got to fully appreciate this singular talent. Salif moved to Paris in 84’ and combined his West African music pedigree with the European and American styles in the city. One of the resulting works was Soro, a 1987 Afro-pop masterpiece that announced him on the world stage. It was the beginning of a rich recording period.
1991’s Amen cemented his place at the top of the category known as ‘world music’ and in 1997 he made a triumphant return to Mali as an established star. It was this fame that helped him break the stigma against people with albinism and he re-entered the community that once shunned him, planting new roots as well as building a studio in Bamako. 2002’s Moffou was his first work back in his native land, hailed as one of his best.
As one of the foremost African artists, he has collaborated far and wide, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Carlos Santana, Toumani Diabaté and more. Yet, his driving force has always been to support others sharing his condition. 2009’s La Différence, which won him numerous awards, interrogates the idea of ‘difference’ and raises awareness around the human sacrifice people with albinism still suffer.
Since 2018’s Un Autre Blanc, he splits his time between performing and charity work through his global foundation and the Fondation Salif Keita Pour Les Albinos, based in Africa, which educates around Albinism, distributes medical care and provides love and support for those affected.
Rowan Standish Hayes
