Keïta was born in the small village of Balandougou, Guinea, in the northeastern prefecture of Siguiri, near the border of Mali.

[3] By the age of five, he had developed his own technique of tone, slap, bass and learned the rhythms of his village and was playing Djembe in all of the ceremonies, celebrations and festivals.

At the age of twelve, he became a member of the first regional federal ballet of Siguiri after Balanka Sidiki, a recruiter for the group, came to Balandugu looking for performers.

[4] At the time, Guinea was governed by Sékou Touré, who put special emphasis on Guinean culture through live performances and a system of local, regional, and national competitions that recruited the greatest artists of the land.

[11] Up until his death, Keïta worked as a performer with his group Sewa Kan and recorded a number of CDs.