The other day Michael Soumah gave me a stack of CDs, among them a demo by Rahmane Diallo. Wow! His voice is somewhat reminiscent of Baaba Maal’s, but the beauty of his songs is all his. One song, Sira, actually gives me goosebumps. Luckily Michael hooked it all up and introduced me to Rahmane, and to his friend and manager, Mama Diop. I met with them in the Patte d’Oie suburb of Dakar, we chat, shared ideas – and shared some delicious ceebu jën. Rahmane and Mama were both very excited about Akwaaba, we are now working together to push this music further.
