Boubacar Traoré (musician)

Early life

As a child Traoré was a local soccer star getting the nickname "Kar Kar", meaning "dribble dribble".^[3][4] His brother, had been to Cuba to study the guitar, becoming a teacher. At the age of 17, he secretly taught himself the guitar, playing it like the kora, and later being taught by his brother.^[5] In the late 1950s he listened to local and Cuban music, gaining access to American music such as Chuck Berry and jazz in the 1960s.^[6]

Early fame

Traoré first came to prominence in the early 1960s, as music opportunities were opened to non-griots by the socialist government.^[7] He was a superstar in Mali and a symbol of the newly independent country (see History of Mali). His songs were immensely popular and he enjoyed regular radio play. However, he made no recordings,^[4] and since there were no royalties paid to musicians, he was very poor.^[7]

Decline and revival

In 1968, when Moussa Traoré overthrew Malian president Modibo Keïta, Boubacar Traoré, widely seen as an artist associated with the previous regime, disappeared from the airwaves. After this Traoré did farm work and opened a shop with his brother. During the 1970s Traoré's popularity faded until a surprise television appearance in 1987.^[8] Of his eleven children five died in childhood,^[9] and soon after this "rediscovery" his wife Pierrette died during childbirth. Grief-stricken, he moved to France and did construction work to support his children.^[8] While there, a British record producer of the Sterns record label discovered a leaked tape of one of Traoré's radio performances, and he was finally signed to a record deal.^[10] His first album, Mariama, was released in 1990. Since then, Traoré has enjoyed international popularity, touring Europe, North America,^[3] and Africa.

Boubacar figures in the book Mali Blues (Lonely Planet, Australia), by Belgian writer Lieve Joris.^[9] The book inspired^{[citation needed]} Swiss film director Jacques Sarasin for the 2001 film Je chanterai pour toi ("I'll Sing For You") about Boubacar,^[11] released on DVD in 2005.
Along with several blues artists, he appeared in the film Blues Road Movie (Au Coeur du Blues) by Louis Mouchet (2001).^[12]

Boubacar then released Kongo Magni (Marabi, 2005),^[8] produced by Christian Mousset, director of the Festival Musiques Métisses d'Angoulême (Angoulême Cross-Cultural Music Festival), who would also produce his Mali Denhou (Lusafrica, 2010).^{[citation needed]} Kar Kar made up for lost time with acclaimed live performances around Europe and then the United States and Canada. Mbalimaou (My Brothers) was released in February 2015,^[8] followed by Dounia Tabalo in November 2017^[13] and a live album Live! Boubacar Traoré & Vincent Bucher & Jeremie Diarra in 2024.^[14]

Despite their shared last name, he is not related to Malian singer/guitarist Rokia Traoré, although they performed a duet together on her 2000 album Wanita.^[15]

When Traoré is not touring, he raises sheep and farms vegetables on a plot of land he owns in Bamako.^[8]