[1] Bambino was born and raised in the village of Kintinya, some 25 kilometers from the town of Siguiri, close to the border with Mali.

He was born into a musical family, and is descended from a long line of griots, known in some Mande languages as jeli.

Thus, in 1983, at the age of 19, Diabaté was asked to join Bembeya Jazz, Guinea's best-known musical group.

In November 2015 Bambino was caught up in an attack by suspected Ansar al-Din operatives on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, but was able to escape.

[2] The BBC quoted him telling journalists:[3] I woke up with the sounds of gunshots and for me, it was just small bandits who came in the hotel to claim something.