By Angie Lemon
Published November8, 2024
Natu Camara is both an inspired and inspiring musician. Doubly blessed with exceptional musical talent and drive, Natu Camara successfully manages personal success as a much loved and well-respected musician and mentor in New York City’s global musical family, while keeping a firm grip on bridging tradition with community needs. Natu aims to bring communities together through music and she is successfully achieving this through her international band in the Big Apple, as the Director of the popular annual festival Harlem Meet Africa music festival and the Dimedi Foundation team, that assists orphaned children in her homeland of Guinea-Conakry in West Africa.
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Natu Camara is now poised to her new global music single, ‘Cinko Mina’, co-created with her close associate, Guinean star musician Sekou ‘Diamond Fingers’ Diabate from Bembeya Jazz – one of the most significant Afro-jazz Guinean bands. Sung in Malinke and English, Natu creates a beautiful blend of Guinean global grooves, traditional jazz on ‘Cinko Mina’. Performed in English and Malinke, Natu’s craft and the inspiration of the track clearly comes through from the opening bars of this fairytale poem about the nostalgia of lost love.
As Natu says in her own words of ‘Cinko Mina”, “I really wanted to sing this song to celebrate our legends, to celebrate Bembeya Jazz, the legendary Guinean band of musicians who were well recognised but now have grown older and many of them have passed already. This is for me a way to celebrate them, to say thank you for your art and thank you for keeping the Guinea legacy by just singing this song. I am very thankful for my deep friendship and respect for Sekou Diabate…he loves this new version of this song and honoured me by saying it is the best rendition yet. This collaboration with Sekou has been a true celebration of artistry, past and present.”
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Born in Ivory Coast but raised in Guinea, Natu Camara first made her name as one of the singers in the female R&B hip-hop band, the Ideal Black Girls. Their first album, “Guinea mou monèra (“It’s not a shame to be a woman”) went on to sell in the millions and was nominated for Best Album 2002 in Guinea.
Natu Camara has carved a strong name in Guinea and NYC. As the founder of the popular annual festival Harlem Meet Africa, Natu works tirelessly to create events that promote African heritage and culture with contemporary relevance. Regular high profile media appearances such as Tiny Desk NPR, Afropop Worldwide, abc7ny, abcnews and abc NYC, Natu’s music and messages are being heard widescale.
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This new collaboration ‘Cinko Mina’ between Guinean powerhouse singer Natu Camara and Bembeya jazz guitarist Sekou ‘Diamond Fingers’ Diabate, is a special track of friendship and love while showing a healthy respect for honouring musical traditions.
‘Cinko Mina’ single, released internationally on November 22, 2024 ahead of ‘Lumiere’ album that is scheduled for 2025, has been supported by the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theater.
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‘Cinko Mina’ Production Credits
- Lyrics by Bembeya Jazz and Natu Camara
- Producers: Koudou Attanass / Natu CamaraRecorded: in Guinea and New York
- Sound Engineer for single: Koudou Attanass / Bassy Bob
- Mixing & Mastering: Bassy Bob (Los Depressos)
- Engineered + mixed by Bassy Bob
- Recorded between Guinea and New York
Musicians on Cinko Mina
- Natu Camara – Vocals
- Sekou ‘Diamond Fingers’ Diabate from Bembeya Jazz – Guitar and Hawaiian guitar (Guinea) Maestro Maitre Barry of Guinea-Saxophonist
- Kayode Kuti- Bass
- Graham Hawthorne- Drum and percussions
- Moh! Kouyate – Electric Guitar
- Jonathan Crayford – Pianist
- Oran Etkin: Clarinets.
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