[5] At five years old, he began musical training with his father Penegue Diabaté, who was known for his balafon playing throughout his Sambla-speaking home region and elsewhere in Burkina Faso.

[6] At the age of 11, he moved from his home village to Bobo-Dioulasso, where he honed his balafon playing and learned other percussion instruments including the talking drum and djembe.

[5] Three years later Diabaté began playing with his father[5] in an ensemble that received first prize at the arts competition of the 1988[7] National Culture Week of Burkina Faso in Koudougou and Reo.

[9] In 2002, he released on the same label the solo album Keneya, the first publicly issued disc to feature traditional Sambla balafon music.

[23] In 2016, he was made Knight of the National Order of Burkina Faso for his role in promoting Burkinabe art and culture internationally.