Mamady Keita was born in 1950 in Balandugu, a village situated in the Wassolon area of Northern Guinea in West Africa. The son of a master-hunter and healer, his talent as a percussionist manifested itself at a very early age.
The story goes that his pregnant mother wishing to know the destiny of her child consulted a soothsayer who announced that her last son would become a famous drummer. After mastering the
djembe , Mamady went on to explore a variety of drums and percussion instruments. His instructor was Karinkadjan Konde, an elder of the village and djembefola (djembe master). Konde initiated the young Mamady into the secrets of the djembe and taught him the history of the Manding and their musical traditions.
At age seven, Mamady performed in the film "Africa Dance" with Harry Belafonte. At fourteen, he was selected to join the Guinean Djoliba National Ballet at its inception. In 1979, he became the first percussionist to be named Artistic Director of the Company, a position he held until 1986. He continued to perform as a soloist during this period and appeared in the film "La Vie Platinee". In 1986, he joined Souleymane Koli's troupe Koteba, an African musical theater group based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
In 1988, Mamady Keita moved to Belgium. Since founding the percussion school Tam Tam Mandingue in 1991, he divides his time between teaching and playing with his ensemble Sewa Kan (the name literally means: "Without music, no joy; but without joy, no music"). Sewa Kan consists of six musicians: five percussionists/singers and one female vocalist and dancer. In 1991, filmmaker Laurent Chevallier made a prize-winning documentary about Mamady's return to his native village after 26 years. "Djembefola", as the film is called, won several prizes even prior to its distribution.
Mamady Keita's recordings on the Fonti Musicali label: Nankama, Wassolon (1989), Mogobalu (1995) Hamanah (1996) and Afo (1998).
