Inna Modja is a Malian singer and pop artist from Bamako, Mali. Born in 1984, she grows up in a diplomat’s family and lives in Nigeria, Togo and the USA before settling in Paris at 18.

Music

Her style is described as “rock ’n’ love”, a blend that draws on pop and rock while moving away from conventional ideas of Malian or broader African music. Her songs include “Let’s Go to Bamako”, which refers to Mali’s capital, and “Mr. H”, her first video, which gains substantial television play in France.

Career

Modja releases her debut album, Everyday Is a New World, in France in 2009. Before launching her solo career, she sings backing vocals for Salif Keita’s band, the Bamako Rail Band, and Keita remains one of her mentors. She also performs with Les Parisiennes.

Life in Paris

After moving to Paris, she describes the city as her home while keeping close ties to Bamako, where her family lives. She speaks of valuing her everyday life in Paris and of returning to Bamako for its energy, market and the banks of the Niger river.