Mahamadou Souleymane (born 1984), known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a Nigerien guitarist, singer and songwriter who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His music first gained attention through a trading network of mobile phones and memory cards in West Africa. He sings in the Tamasheq language. Moctar's fourth album, Ilana: The Creator, released in 2019, was the first to feature a full band. He plays guitar in the takamba and assouf styles. He also appeared in the 2015 film Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai (Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red in It).
Mdou Moctar was born in Abalak, Niger. He grew up in the village of Tchintabaraden, then in Arlit, a mining town. After listening to artists such as Abdallah Oumbadougou, he wanted to play the guitar, but his family disapproved of electric music for religious reasons, so he had to build his own guitar using bicycle cables for strings.
His first album, Anar, was recorded in Sokoto, Nigeria, in 2008 and prominently featured autotuned vocals and influences from Hausa music. The album was not officially released at the time but the songs became popular across the Sahel when they went viral through mobile phone music trading networks. Many of Moctar's initial songs were shared as MP3 files person-to-person throughout Niger via Bluetooth without his involvement.
Mahamadou Souleymane (born 1984), known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a Nigerien guitarist, singer and songwriter who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His music first gained attention through a trading network of mobile phones and memory cards in West Africa. He sings in the Tamasheq language. Moctar's fourth album, Ilana: The Creator, released in 2019, was the first to feature a full band. He plays guitar in the takamba and assouf styles. He also appeared in the 2015 film Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai (Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red in It).
Mdou Moctar was born in Abalak, Niger. He grew up in the village of Tchintabaraden, then in Arlit, a mining town. After listening to artists such as Abdallah Oumbadougou, he wanted to play the guitar, but his family disapproved of electric music for religious reasons, so he had to build his own guitar using bicycle cables for strings.
His first album, Anar, was recorded in Sokoto, Nigeria, in 2008 and prominently featured autotuned vocals and influences from Hausa music. The album was not officially released at the time but the songs became popular across the Sahel when they went viral through mobile phone music trading networks. Many of Moctar's initial songs were shared as MP3 files person-to-person throughout Niger via Bluetooth without his involvement.