A sought-after performer, lecturer, storyteller, and choreographer throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and Canada, Cheick Hamala began touring in the U.S. in 1995.

A steward of the 800-year-old tradition of the Griot, the storytellers of West Africa, Cheick Hamala shares the oral history, music, and song of his culture as it was passed on to him from birth by parent to child.

At an early age, Cheick Hamala mastered the ngoni, a stringed lute and ancestor to the banjo.

Cheick Hamala works with notable traditional African dance companies based in the U.S. as instructor, choreographer, and performer.

His music always reflects the historical integrity of an important art form with a rich tradition stretching back hundreds of years to the formation of the Great Malian Empire.