“Close your eyes and what do you see? We all see black and then beyond that we see red. This is the colour of love and we need to be fighting for that.”
Fatoumata Diawara electrifies the Earth Hackney stage as if the world is in flames and she has to perform to save it. She moves, a vision of African power and strength, singing of the hurt in the world and advocating for social change, knowing it is her duty as an African woman in the limelight. She takes us to her home country Mali, and into Nigeria. Her latest album, Fenfo, translates to ‘Something to Say’, a perfect encapsulation of Fatou as an artist.
Her set includes highlights like ‘Kokoro’, where she sings about how people need to be proud to be African. “People see Africa as a place of war and poverty, but it has an incredible history and culture and people need to be proud." Another is ‘Timbuktu Fasso’, about how children need to be protected from violence. There is a constant debate on whether music or lyrics are more important in a song. But, although singing in her native Bambara, the yearning, hurt and passion in her voice transcends the language barrier.
Fatou stands alone and delivers heart-wrenching ‘Fenfo’, she dances around, swinging her braids. She shreds on the guitar with the band and invites the audience onstage. The sense of community is almost tangible in the room that I’m transported back to the motherland. It’s not a show to be forgotten easily.