Oumou Sangaré (Bambara: Umu Sangare; born 25 February 1968) is a Malian Wassoulou singer of Fulani (Fula) descent.

[2] Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the music descends from age-old traditional song, often accompanied by a calabash.

[3][4] Her career began in 1973 when, at the age of five, she won an inter-kindergarten singing competition in Bamako, going on to perform before an audience of several thousand at the Omnisport stadium.

[6] Sangaré recorded her first album, Moussoulou ("Women"), with Amadou Ba Guindo, a renowned maestro of Malian music.

Other albums include Ko Sira (1993), Worotan (1996), and a 2-CD compilation Oumou (2004), all released on World Circuit Records.

She was named an ambassador of the FAO in 2003 and won the UNESCO Prize in 2001 and was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 1998.

Sangaré is featured prominently in Throw Down Your Heart, a 2008 documentary about world-renowned American banjo player Béla Fleck, and his exploration of the relatively unknown relationship between his instrument and the musical traditions in Africa.