Moussa Bolokada Conde was born and raised in the remote villages of Morowaya, Guinea, W. Africa. Bolokada or “Bolo” started out as a young musical prodigy who became a sensation in the Sankaran region of Guinea. As a master folklorist throughout his youth and younger years, he became the premier djembe player in all the major village celebrations around the region for many years. He later joined the world famous Les Percussion de Guinee as their lead drummer and has since traveled and performed in major performance venues all over the world. Conde’s mission is to share the epic rhythms, stories, and culture of the Malinke people and nurture his and others’ musical life journey.

Conde has performed for thousands of people at the highest level and takes pride in sharing the Malinke rhythms, songs, and his culture with passion, patience, and remarkable zeal in not only spellbinding performances, but also in everyday class settings.

Bolokada shares his successes and joy for life by returning to Guinea every year for several months to provide for his family and oversee numerous village projects. He works tirelessly to ensure that his large family and the people of the surrounding villages are provided with clean water from two recently dug wells and that the local people can use a bridge that crosses an enormous river during the rainy season to reach supplies. His resources and vision have helped provide the children with a school and achieve the most recent construction of a hospital where women can birth their babies in a safer environment. His upcoming intent is to harness solar energy in order to pump water to locations such as the hospital and expand the scope of the medical clinic there. An eyeglass endeavor is underway at present to test and fit those in need of glasses.

Since 2004, he has been performing and teaching the music and folklore locally, across the United States and around the globe. When not traveling, he resides in Greenville, SC and uses a workshop to build djembe and dunun drums, create new and exciting custom costumes for dance troupes and sew accessories for playing the djembe (sitting and standing straps).

Learning from this great master djembefola is a one-of-a-kind experience!!!