Coumba Sidibé was one of the singers who forged Wassoulou music in the mid-1970s, leaving Mali's state-sponsored national orchestra to front her own group, Le Super Mansa de Wassoulou, and popularize the kamelengoni harp in dance-band form. Hits like "Diya ye Banna" earned her the informal title "Queen of Wassoulou" and made her backing group a launching pad for the next generation, including a young Oumou Sangaré, who publicly cites her as a childhood influence. Sidibé died in New York in 2009.

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KonyanCoumba Sidibé