Malika Ouattara (born 16 April 1993) is a

slam poet A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry recitals from ac ...

and musical artist from

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, known as "Malika la Slameuse".

Biography

Ouattara was born on 16 April 1993 in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

. She made her performance debut at the Waga Hip Hip Festival in 2009. Her lyrical talent, as well as her presence as a woman on the predominately male slam scene, meant that she became a leading figure in slam in West Africa. In 2017 Outtara estimated that there were only fifteen African women slam poets in total. She released her first single in 2012, which was part of a project run by the Ministry for Women. In 2013 she made her first television appearances. In 2016 she was photographed by

Leila Alaoui Leila Alaoui (10 July 1982 – 18 January 2016) was a French–Moroccan photographer and video artist. She worked as a commercial photographer for magazines and non-governmental organizations and completed assignments on refugees. Her work was e ...

, as part of a series focusing on women's empowerment in

. The same year, and postponed by the terrorist attack in which Alaoui was killed, Ouattara released her first album, entitled '' Slamazone.'' The album sold more than 5000 copies. Artists who collaborated with Ouattara on it include: Smarty, Greg Burkimbila, Will Be Black and Wendyida. Her music and poetry are socially conscious and feature themes of love, as well as women's rights issues such as unplanned pregnancy. In her single "All Night" she discusses unfaithfulness in relationships. She has won numerous slam awards in West Africa. In June 2015 she took part in a week to raise awareness of issues facing people with

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

in her country. Malika_la_slameuse

In 2019 she set up the Slamazone Foundation of which she is President, in order to fund raise for social issues in her country. However the charity had to reprioritise its work in the face of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; their focus moved to virus prevention through the promotion of good hygiene. In her previous career she worked for the

African Institute of Management African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** List ...

. On 10 September 2020, Ouattara encouraged as many of her fanclub as possible to donate blood. She also signed a memorandum of understanding between the Slamazone Foundation and the National Blood Transfusion Centre in Ouagadougou. Outtara is a practising Muslim. She has received criticism from some members of the public who believe that Muslim women should not perform in public. She has publicly stated that her faith and her art do not contradict each other.

References

External links

* Malika La Slameuse
Avortement #BurkinaFaso
* Malika La Slameuse
Moüslimine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouattara, Malika Living people 1993 births People from Ouagadougou Burkinabe Muslims Burkinabe women singers Burkinabe poets Slam poets Burkinabe women poets 21st-century Burkinabe people 21st-century women singers 21st-century poets 21st-century women writers