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Kayawoto is one of the most exciting musicians to come out of Burkina Faso in recent years, and he has an amazing story. For ten years, from the age of fourteen, he worked in the gold mines, on long-distance lorries and buses, and as a mason in the building trade to raise money to fulfil his dream to record the songs he was busy writing.

Now he has thousands of fans he calls Maoulandais; people he characterises as conquerors, who are struggling but pick themselves up when they fall. They packed Ouagadougou’s biggest stadium to hear his inspiring messages and his sound, which is a blend of upbeat tempo and traditional instruments.

As he tells This Is Africa, Kayawoto still has big dreams – he is preparing to drop his third album this year and he wants the music of Burkina Faso to blow up the world over, just as Nigeria’s Afrobeats has done.

Image: Kayawoto (Credit: Lino Pro)