Yeah… we’re hams! Couldn’t resist but post this massive feature courtesy of our friends over at iTunes. If this is any indication, Iba’s album is well worth checking out. Thanks again to Bruno & the iTunes US team for helping us push this fabulous music!!

Iba is another talented Malian griot. The son of revered Malian great Abdoulaye Diabaté, Iba’s voice was noticed at an early age in the village of Yorosso, east of Bamako near the border with Burkina Faso. Iba sings mostly in his native Bambara, but also in French, English and Spanish, singing about respect, peace, love and social injustice.

Today Amsatou and I headed to the Centre Culturel Français de Bamako (French Cultural Center of Bamako) where we met many of the artists we heard yesterday at Mali K7. Mamou Sidibé came with her friend and manager Mory Touré, a smart radio host who was completely thrilled by Akwaaba. Mory was saying the biggest problem with music in Mali is now piracy. Not illegal downloading but pirated CDs. For this reason our meeting could not have been timed better, as artists and producers are more eager than ever to diversify their sources of income.

Today we also met Iba Diabaté, another talented Malian griot, the son of revered Malian great Abdoulaye Diabaté. Iba’s voice was noticed at an early age in the village of Yorosso, east of Bamako near the border with Burkina Faso. Iba sings mostly in his native Bamabara, but also in French, English and Spanish, singing about respect, peace, love and social injustice.

Iba was fortunate enough to travel the world with his father, and seemed very aware of the challenges he is facing as an artist in Mali. He mentioned his father, who is constantly playing in Europe. His CD sales have shrunken down so much that today he is obligated to tour, and Iba seemed a bit worried as he is also getting old and the tours are becoming increasingly tiring. For this reason in particular Iba was very, very enthusiastic about Akwaaba, welcoming in the new blood, new philosophy – and new opportunities.