Born in 1959 in Banian, Diabaté was a cousin of Sékou Diabaté [fr].[2] She began her career in 1970 and played music with six traditional instruments: the bolon, the kora, the dunun, the dan, the balafon, the djembe, and the guitar.[3] She held numerous concerts in Africa, Europe, and the United States and recorded several albums. In 2002, she recorded an album titled Donkili Diarabi with her sisters Sona Diabaté [fr] and Sayon Diabaté.[4] After living in Sierra Leone for several years, she returned to Guinea in 2021 to release an album.[5][6]
Mama Diabaté died in Conakry on 5 December 2023, at the age of 63.[7]