[6] Her debut album, La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Vol 1, was recorded with N’Gou Bagayoko, who played acoustic guitar and who later became her husband.
After her first recording, as a duo, she moved toward playing with larger groups that incorporated synthesizers and electric guitar.
The album contains material about Mali's problems--"terrorist attacks by the West African offshoot of ISIS, continued French military intervention, widespread strikes and protests and a coup d’etat".
The title track urges the young people of Mali to stay in the country, lest they fall victim to human trafficking.
According to reviewer Eugene Ulman, "The arrangements, building from mostly acoustic to bass-heavy grooves, are sparse and deliberate: every detail, down to the smallest karignan (metal scraper) and the gunshot samples (incorporated into the percussion palette) are placed with meticulous care.