Who is supergroup Les Amazones d’Afrique?

For the past decade they’ve brought together some of the finest female vocal talent in West Africa, all into one neatly packaged and ever evolving supergroup.

But who are Les Amazones d’Afrique? And why have so many artists been keen to be a part of what they do?

They were formed in 2014, in Mali

In the capital city Bamako to be precise, where three prominent Malian singers – Oumou Sangaré, Mamani Keïta and Mariam Doumbia – met with Valerie Malot of French music agency 3D Family, who were involved in a number of social change projects in Africa.

Speaking to Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff in The Guardian in 2017 Malot explained how their conversation prompted some collective realisation. ‘What we found out was that female repression in the continent and in the world, is something that touches every woman. It’s not a question of colour, or culture. It’s something generic. All women can relate to it.’

On Malot’s proposition the performers agreed to come together and raise money for the Panzi Foundation which treats girls and women with gynaecological injuries in the Democratic Republic of Congo, over half of whom were survivors of sexual violence.

Their name is a homage to the women who went before them

The new all women supergroup born out of that Bamako meeting chose to call itself Les Amazones D’Afrique. Partly in homage to the Dahomey Amazons, women warriors who for almost 200 years roamed what is now Benin protecting the borders of west Africa, and also as a nod to Guinea’s first all-female pop group, Les Amazones de Guinée.

‘The name Amazon, you see, comes from female warriors who were from the Benin empire. They had an army of females. And that’s why we call ourselves that, because we’re going on a war. It’s a war to defend women’s rights.’

Fafa Ruffino, speaking to Afropop Worldwide in 2019

Their initial line-up featured almost a dozen artists

From that first meeting of three Malian performers, the line-up exploded and by the time they put out their debut single ‘I Play the Kora’ in 2015, Les Amazones D’Afrique were 11-strong. Though Sangaré pulled out of the project, Keïta and Doumbia remained and were joined by fellow Malian vocalists Kandia Kouyaté, Mariam Koné, Rokia Koné, Inna Modja, and Massan Coulibaly, plus drummer Mouneissa Tandina and Beninois singer – and past Meltdown performer – Angélique Kidjo, Gabonese musician Pamela Badjogo and Nigerian singer-songwriter Nneka. This same line-up would also deliver the group’s debut album Republique Amazone in 2017.

Their line-up has evolved over the years

By the time of Les Amazones d’Afrique’s second album the group’s line-up had slimmed down significantly, with Keïta and Rokia Koné joined by Fafa Ruffino of Benin and Kandy Guira from Burkina Faso. But 2020’s Amazones Power was hardly a cosy affair, featuring a host of guest vocalists including Niariu, Nacera Oualo Mesbah and Ami Yerewolo.

Now, ten years on from their foundation only Keïta remains from the group’s original line-up. She is partnered on Les Amazones d’Afrique’s 2024 album Musow Danse by Ruffino and Guira as well as new additions Dobet Gnahoré of Ivory Coast and Congolese singer Alvie Bitemo, with Nneka returning to provide guest vocals.

But the message behind them has stayed constant

Though the personnel may have shifted over the last decade, the goal behind their formation – one of campaigning for gender equality and the eradication of ancestral violence against women – remains their key motivation. ‘Being a woman in Africa, being a woman anywhere, can be tough’, explains Ruffino, ‘we want women to rise up, be stronger together. To find joy. To move’. The group are aware their work isn’t done, and continue to carry the harrowing stories of west African life in their music.

Their music has earned notable acclaim

Though their message is worthy, their music is no less powerful in its own right. As is perhaps to be expected from a group which brings together a breadth of individual talent, it offers a real creative blend, combining pan-African styles and collaborative harmonies with gritty more contemporary pop, and the Congotronic sound influence of producer Doctor L. This far-ranging sound helped their debut LP to secure a place among The Guardian’s Top 50 albums of 2015, and saw their second release highlighted in NPR Music’s best albums of 2020. And among their most notable fans is President Barack Obama, who included their track ‘La Dame et Ses Valises’ among his 20 favourites from 2017.

And has seen them perform around the world

Though syncing schedules of supergroup performers isn’t easy, that challenge hasn’t stopped Les Amazones d’Afrique from performing all over the globe, with their festival appearances alone taking them to three different continents via Primavera Sound in Barcelona, the Gnawa Festival in Essaouira, Morocco, and globalFEST in New York. They’ve also made a number of appearances to the UK, most notably in 2022 when they appeared at WOMAD, at Cardiff’s Llais Festival, and performed on Glastonbury’s pyramid stage. And they returned to the UK in June 2024 to perform in our Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer as part of Chaka Khan’s Meltdown.