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Rokia Traoré: Titati/Africa Unite

August 12, 2013 By guillaume

Malian singer songwriter Rokia Traoré’s “Roots” project emerged as a continuation of the Desdemona multimedia collaboration she contributed to in 2011. Written by American novelist and 1993 Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison and staged by experimental theatre director Peter Sellars, Desdemona is a play imagining a dialogue between Othello’s wife Desdemona and Barbary, the African nurse and former slave looking after her. It was Sellars who commissioned the Malian artist to write music and songs for the play. Backed by three musicians (on the kora, ngoni and bolon) and three chorus singer, Rokia Traoré performed the songs on stage as Barbary.

Rokia Traoré - "Roots" project - 2011
Rokia Traoré – “Roots” project – 2011

Photo credit: Christophe Goussart – Fondation Passerelle

The range of Ms. Traoré’s performance as Barbary — her rich and mesmerizing voice, regal bearing and fluid movement — has enchanted critics. New York Times

Retaining the exact same line-up of three musicians and three chorus singers, the artist toured her “Roots” project in 2011 and 2012 as a limited series of acoustic concerts. Singing some of her own songs and covering a selection of older and contemporary African songs, the project works as an homage to Malian music, African music and Pan-Africanism. The attached clip is a selection of the first two songs of the project:

  1. Titati (comp. Bako Dagnon) – 00’05’’
  2. Africa Unite (Bob Marley) – 05’10’’

A modern take on traditional African singing and instrumentation, the sheer visual and musical elegance of the performance is simply mesmerising.

http://www.rokiatraore.net/

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Filed Under: Contemporary Tagged With: kora, ngoni, Rokia Traoré, songwriting

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Comments

  1. Valeria says

    September 11, 2015 at 4:38 am

    Is beautiful! Can anyone tell me the lyrics of Titati? Thank you very much!

    Reply
    • guillaume says

      September 11, 2015 at 9:55 am

      An English translation is available in the YouTube comments.

      Reply
  2. trevs61 says

    August 21, 2020 at 9:45 am

    I wish this was true but it is not. There is no English translation of the Lyrics of Titati as covered by Rokia Traore. The only lyrics to be found are those of Titati covered by Bako Dagnon and they are in the language of Bambara, as follows…

    “Titati

    Ye ne miri ile le ma
    Cheri ne ye miri ile le ma
    Ko laban bali la kanou mandi ye
    Tita tita tiiii

    Lahila Lahila la titati
    Eh lahila lahila lalalaaaa

    Alalou tolo ma don ala
    Ne be na titati kouma fo doni
    Alalou tola mado ala djeli Backo be na titati

    Aah lahilala kan’i ta i doussou fai
    Mo ti konoro kouma baih ban fo la
    Ko di tii (titatiii)

    Mousso ye wala diyayè tchie fai
    Tchieba ye tala diyayè mousso ko
    Titati (titati)

    Ahh lahilala dja dali magni deh
    Ni koun na kanou taih
    A doun guailaiman
    Son te n’diyana mo la
    Allah le djon diyala djon ye
    Tita titatiiii

    Allah la kogno mousso kadi baih ye
    Magnon koura kadi baih ye
    Kogno mousso mairainai tigui ko kadi ne ye ooh
    Kogno douman n’ye
    Koun sigui ko dali babouna ko kadi n’ye
    Mousso gnouman ko kadi n’ye
    Tchie kissai ko dougou djè sira ko kadi ne ye ooh
    Kogno mousso ko kadi ne ye
    A ko kadi ne ye
    A ko kadi ne ye ooh
    Ma chérie dali magni deh

    Kogno ti yailai na
    Kogno mouso i ti yailai ne la wa
    Kogno i ti yailai na
    Kogno mouso i ti yailai ne la wa
    Kogno ti yailai ne la
    Ti yailai ne la
    Ti yailai ne la
    Wallahi deli magni ooh
    Alou ye n’naini na e le fai
    Ni baih ye diyayè ro
    Alou ye n’gochi la e le fai
    Ni baih ye diyayè ro
    Alou ye n’makouna ile le fai
    Ni baih ye diyayè ro
    Mousso ye siki la diyayè tchie le fai
    I te si … la koun
    N’anw li ki di diyayè mogo ma
    Wa e be siki o koun titati
    N’anw li ki di goya la mogo ma
    e te siki o koun
    Ça vas pas
    Sabourou bara tignè…

    kaou gnogon de ro
    Ki kana diarabi kouma fo n’ye
    N’ya lon diarabi kosson
    Ki gnè koumoun
    Sinogo te se kaih la
    Mogo te se la li yairaima
    Sabourou bara n’tignai (titatii)

    Nalou man di diyayè tchie ma
    Wa m’bi wa koun fai (titati)

    Bolokouroun gnai ba le mogo ma soumaya la
    Djourou fo deli magni de Allah
    Saiguain magni deh
    Djeli Bako yairai ko saiguain magni deh
    Saiguain bara bi lou tiguai mogo la
    Te se kouma la a ma souma len be tôrô tôtô
    Ala ta sakona ko chi kaih là ka massaro saiguain wii

    Lahilala dja dali magni deh
    Wallahi dja dali magni deh
    Ni koun na kanou taih
    A doun guailaiman
    Son te n’diya gnè mogo là
    Allah le djon diya là djon ye Ti (Titatii)”

    Reply
  3. dean says

    January 9, 2021 at 7:37 pm

    this is one of the greatest concerts of African music. the entire concert was once on YouTube and has been taken down. I cannot imagine why unless it was because a DVD has been released. Does anyone have info on where i can find Rokias full 2011 Project Roots concert?

    Reply

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