Rokia Traoré (born January 24, 1974-) is an award-winning Malian singer, songwriter and guitarist. Traoré was born in Mali as a member of the Bamana ethnic group. As her father was a diplomat, she travelled widely in her youth including to Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France and Belgium. As a result of this travel, she was exposed to a wide variety of influences. Her hometown is Kolokani, in the northwestern part of Mali's Koulikoro region.
