He has dedicated his life to performing and preserving the music of his people, helping to elevate the djembe orchestra from its traditional roots to worldwide popularity.

Famoudou was born in 1940 near Sangbaralla, a village in the Hamana region of Upper Guinea, the Malinké heartland and the birthplace of the dundunba family of rhythms.

They all went together in Famoudou's Konate birth village, Sangbaralla around Kouroussa in Upper Guinée and made a first recording, on tape, of his work and brought it back to Europe.

[2] Under the direction of Lillian Friedberg and Jim Banks, Konaté established himself on the North American scene with national tours from coast from 2000-2004.

Today, Konaté teaches and performs annually throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, North America and West Africa, instilling a generation of non-African drummers with an extraordinary level of training.