[7] Her first album Mouneïssa (Label Bleu), released in late 1997 in Mali and September 1, 1998 in Europe, was acclaimed for its fresh treatment and unqualifiable combinations of several Malian music traditions such as her use of the ngoni and the balafon.

[8] From 2013 to 2018, Traoré had a relationship with Jan Goossens,[9] a Belgian playwright and artistic director with whom she has a daughter, born in Belgium in 2015.

[11][excessive citations] A court in Mali issued full custody to Traoré, but this was disputed by the government in Goossens' home country of Belgium.

[11] In March 2020, Traoré was arrested after a judge in Brussels issued a warrant ordering her to surrender her five-year-old daughter.

[11] Several musicians publicly voiced support for Traoré and called for her release, including Angélique Kidjo, Damon Albarn, Youssou N'Dour, and Salif Keita.

[17] On November 29, Rokia Traoré was extradited from Italy to Belgium and imprisoned in Haren prison in Brussels.

[20] Traoré attended lycée in Mali while her father was stationed in Brussels and started performing publicly as a university student in Bamako.

In December 2006 Peter Sellars' New Crowned Hope festival, which is part of the City of Vienna's celebrations commemorating Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthday 250 years ago, saw the world premiere of Wati, a performance by Rokia Traoré and the Klangforum Wien.

[22] In September 2012, she was included in the campaign "30 Songs / 30 Days" to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book.