Karamo Cissokho, better known as KARA, was born in 1979 in Dakar, Senegal. He comes from a long lineage of Griot families that dates back to the Empire of Mali, c. 1230, c. 1600.
Kara picked up the Kora at 6 years old, then joined the Conservatory of Music of Dakar; with his brothers and sister, Kara participated in a family musical group of ten Korists.
In 1988, at the age of 9, he did his first international performance in Helsinki, Finland. In 1994 Kara moved to Goree Island and joined the group Afriqua Djembe and played the kora and the djembe.
In 1997 he founded and led the Ocean Percussion Company of Goree Island and performed in many European cities such as Paris, Italy, France and Amsterdam. He then founded the reggae group Selebe Yoon and released the album Dunia and performed in various night clubs in the capital of Dakar and many other places in Senegal.
He has lived in Santa Cruz, California since 2007. He founded the group Koumbemba and released an acoustic album " A Tribute To Bakary " in 2008.
Kara's new Album Dunia will be released soon in Japan.
