Mamadou Kanté

Mamadou Konté was a tireless champ of African music and tradition. The founder and movie director of the important Africa Fête event, he was instrumental in starting the professions of Salif Keita, Angélique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, among others. Given birth to and elevated in Senegal, Konté relocated to Paris in 1965. Through the landmark college student revolts of May 1968, he embraced communism and fought for the privileges of immigrant employees, immersing himself in labor causes within the years to check out. Konté organized the very first Africa Fête concert in 1978 to create financing for labor privileges groups. The function drawn over 10,000 people and demonstrated a turning stage in presenting the indigenous music of Africa towards the , the burkha. Its achievement also brought Konté to the eye of performers including Manu Dibango, Touré Kunda, and Xalam, who variously recruited him to provide as producer, supervisor, and agent. He also structured Youssou N’Dour’s 1st European tour, and finally released the Africa Fête label. On the way Konté received a Chevalier des Arts and Lettres from your French authorities in 1992, along with Isle Records creator Chris Blackwell installed some Africa Fête occasions within the U.S. After time for Senegal in 1994, Konté founded the Tringa social middle and relocated Africa Fête to Dakar, where could it be held with the annual Globe AIDS Day time. He passed away in Dakar on June 20, 2007, at age 62.