Get to know Amadou & Mariam

Amadou & Mariam

AMADOU & MARIAM are a music duo made up of Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals), who are both from Mali. Both are blind: Bagayoko lost his vision at sixteen, and Doumbia at the age of five. The band’s first collaboration with Red Hot was a live appearance  “Red Hot + Riot Live, ” a Fela Kuti tribute concert at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2006.

Since then, Amadou & Mariam were nominated for a Grammy award following their 2008 album “Welcome to Mali,” and have performed at countless global events including the Glastonbury Festival and the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. They have released a total of seven albums, some of which have gone gold and platinum. Their most recent, “La Confusion”, was released in 2017.

The Mali duo have used their platform as one of Africa’s most popular music exports to raise awareness about humanitarian causes including their experience living in one of the world’s poorest countries. They contribute regularly to the World Food Program and the United Nations Organization. Amadou is the current president of the Artists Federation in Mali.

Amadou & Mariam’s participation on the project Red Hot + Free was born out of the fact that American music duo Sofi Tukker, who were asked to be featured Red Hot artists, were long-time fans. The four artists collaborated on the track “Mon Cheri”, which was released on May 28, 2021.