The character arc of Mory Kante

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born 29 March 1950 in Albadaria, Guinea, to a griot family. Died 22 May 2020 in Conakry, aged seventy. Between the two sit a departure for Mali at seven to learn the kora, the Rail Band from 1971 alongside Salif Keita, the album Akwaba Beach in 1987, the first African single ever to sell a million copies, a remix that found him a new audience in 1994, and a United Nations role in 2001. The line below draws that whole life in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who was Mory Kante?

A harp from the thirteenth century, and a million records sold.

He was born into a prominent griot family: his father El Hadj Djeli Fode Kante, his mother Fatouma Kamissoko a singer. A griot is not a job you choose, it is a role you are born into, and it carries the history of a people in songs. At seven he was sent to Mali to learn the kora, a twenty one string harp, and the vocal traditions that go with it. Seven years old, sent to another country, to learn an instrument older than most European ones.

In 1971 he joined the Rail Band in Bamako, alongside Salif Keita, which is one of the great bands of West African music and where a generation of musicians was formed. He took the kora somewhere nobody had taken it, putting a traditional griot instrument into arrangements built for a dance floor.

In 1987 he released Akwaba Beach, which became the best selling African record of its time. Its lead single charted across Europe and became the first African single ever to sell more than a million copies. A German techno remix in 1994 gave the song a second life and a completely new audience. In 2001 the Food and Agriculture Organization made him a Goodwill Ambassador, and in 2014 he joined other African musicians on Africa Stop Ebola, which raised money for medical charities. He died at Conakry on 22 May 2020, after years of chronic ill health, at a time when the pandemic prevented continued treatment in France. His line is worth reading because he carried a thirteenth century instrument onto the world's dance floors without pretending it was anything else.

The moments

Mory Kante's timeline.

The 1950s

~1957

Sent to Mali at seven

Setback, and it changed everything. Seven years old, sent to another country, to learn an instrument and a whole oral history.

The 1970s

~1971

The Rail Band

Milestone, and it changed everything. One of the great bands of West Africa, and where a whole generation of musicians was made.

The 1980s

1 Jan 1986

Keep it traditional, or make it dance

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: put the kora on a dance record, taken, or play it as it was taught. Akwaba Beach became the best selling African record of its time and produced the first African single to sell a million copies.

Jun 1987

Akwaba Beach

Milestone, and it changed everything. The best selling African record there had been, by a kora player from Guinea.

Jun 1988

A million copies

Milestone, and it changed everything. The first. No African single had ever sold a million before this one.

The 1990s

~1994

A techno remix

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Seven years on, a remix put the same song in front of an audience that had not been born for the first one.

The 2000s

~2001

A UN ambassador

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The griot role, carried into a different kind of assembly.

The 2010s

Nov 2014

Africa Stop Ebola

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Musicians from across the continent on one record, for the hospitals.

The line ends 22 May 2020, in Conakry, at seventy. What it set moving is audible every time a kora turns up in a record made anywhere: he took the instrument out of the courtyard and did not have to change what it was to do it.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His carried a thirteenth century instrument onto a dance floor. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

Draw my own line Explore Character Arc

Mory Kante: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What was Mory Kante's character arc?

A boy born into a griot family and sent to Mali at seven to learn the kora, who joined a great Bamako band in 1971 and then took a traditional instrument onto dance floors worldwide, selling a million copies of a single.

What is a griot, and was Mory Kante one?

Yes. A griot is not a job chosen but a role born into, carrying a people's history in song. His father was El Hadj Djeli Fode Kante and his mother Fatouma Kamissoko was a singer, and he was sent to Mali at seven to learn it.

What was Akwaba Beach by Mory Kante?

His 1987 album, which became the best selling African record of its time. Its lead single charted across Europe and became the first African single ever to sell more than one million copies.

What instrument did Mory Kante play?

The kora, a twenty one string West African harp, which he was sent to Mali at seven to learn along with the vocal traditions that go with it. He put it into arrangements built for a dance floor.

Who did Mory Kante play with?

He joined the Rail Band in Bamako in 1971 alongside Salif Keita, one of the great bands of West African music and the group in which a whole generation of musicians was formed.

What did Mory Kante do later in life?

A German techno remix in 1994 gave his best known song a second audience. He was made a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2001 and joined Africa Stop Ebola in 2014.

How did Mory Kante die?

He died at Conakry in Guinea on 22 May 2020, at seventy, after years of chronic health problems, at a time when the pandemic prevented him continuing treatment in France.

Where does this timeline of Mory Kante's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Mory Kante isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

More character arcs

Lives that rhyme with his.

Every Character, A to Z

Sources

Mory Kante, English Wikipedia biography.
Contemporary European chart records, 1987 and 1988.