Music like Oumou Sangare

Oumou Sangaré (Bambara: Umu Sangare; born 25 February 1968 in Bamako) is a Grammy Award-winning Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the music descends from age-old traditional song, often accompanied by a calabash.

Sangaré was born in 1968 to singer Aminata Diakité and Sidiki Sangaré, both of whom originated from the Wassoulou region. In 1970, her father took a second wife and moved to Abidjan, leaving Sangaré, her mother and her siblings behind in Bamako. She began singing in the streets to help her mother, leaving school at an early age to do so. Her career began in 1973 when, at the age of five, she won an inter-kindergarten singing competition in Bamako, going on to perform before an audience of several thousand at the Omnisport stadium. At 16, she went on tour with the percussion group Djoliba, touring in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Inspired by her reception on tour, Sangaré returned to Bamako and established her own musical group.