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Sona Jobarteh
1218 Cartwright St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8
With her shimmering 21-string Kora melodies and heart-swelling vocals, Sona Jobarteh is “a griot for a new generation of West Africans” (BBC).
Breaking from a seven-century-old tradition that reserved the instrument for males of a hereditary musical family, Jobarteh is not only the very first female Kora virtuoso, but also a deft innovator who “blends traditional music, blues, and Afropop to impressive effect” (The Guardian). Jobarteh has some eclectic credits of late, from scoring the Idris Elba thriller Beast and co-writing a track on LL Cool J’s new Q Tip-produced album, to selling out venues like the Barbican in London and the Seine Musicale in Paris. Sona’s humanitarian messages aren’t confined to music—she’s also a leading activist for social change and education reform in Africa, delivering potent speeches to the UN, the WTO, and UNICEF and founding The Gambia Academy.
With one ear on the family’s historic reputation, one on the all-important future, and her heart in both, she’s helping build a more equitable, musically rich world for the next generation.