French School of New York, Monday, March 20. In a packed Auditorium, Natu Camara gets all the generations of fans present to celebrate La Francophonie with one of the rising artists of the African scene.
French, Guineans, Senegalese, African-Americans, Cameroonians, everyone has a smile on their face, and a good dozen join the stage at the call of the artist and get excited like never before. “I live the music to exchange with others, so that people mingle, smile, spend a moment where they have fun by being themselves, without worrying about the gaze of others”smiles Camara, always full of enthusiasm.
But the artist born in Conakry has not always had an easy life, strewn with pitfalls and hardships, which brought her from Africa to the country of Uncle Sam, where her popularity continues to grow. .
First group
Born in a popular district of the capital, Natu Camara fell in love with music during singing lessons at school, but her desire to create only arrived in high school, with the influence of hip hop. “With four friends, in second, we decided to create a group, the Ideal Black Girls which was the first female collective of this musical genre in West Africa.she says. Everything happened very quickly, and we released a first album in 2002, then a second in 2007. We didn’t expect that, but it was a wave: we filled stadiums, we traveled all over Africa from West !”. The young woman is offered opportunities in the cinema, and also continues her studies in economics.
But the music never leaves her. Camara does not want to stop there, and wants to explore his artistic universe. At the end of her studies, she worked for the World Bank and then in sales for a large printing company, “which also allowed me to print my concert flyers for free!” still laughs today this jack-of-all-trades, who also wants to help improve the condition of women in this region of the world, through musical creation.
“We therefore decided, seeing the growing influence we were gaining in society, to create the first festival organized for and by women, the Rhapsodie festival, which brought together artists from France, but also from Senegal, of Mali, and neighboring countries in order to make people talk about the women’s cause. We did two editions and it is still one of my greatest prides today, because I cannot see my job without being someone ‘engaged”she says.
She never stops, and always sees higher, further. She continues her musical adventure and her journey takes her to the other side of the Atlantic, to New York in the district of Harlem more precisely, where she joins her sick husband, whom she takes care of when she is not is not on tour. “I hadn’t really planned to come to the United States in 2010, but this case of force majeure brought me here. It was very difficult at first. The adaptation, but also the situation of my husband, was complicated to manage, but I followed what my heart told me”she recalls.
After a few months, her husband succumbs and Natu finds herself alone, mourning, in a country, a city she does not know. “I hit rock bottom, but I found my salvation through music, immersing myself in the musical cultures of this unique city”, she explains. A new vision of her life as an artist, a new impetus begins for the African singer.
The (re)discovery of his musical identity across the Atlantic
In the Big Apple, Natu Camara discovers soul, jazz clubs, but also the place left to artistic creativity for everyone. A revolution for her, which comes from a country where there are many limitations for artists. “I started to discover the city, its energy and its musical movements. I took a huge slap! I started doing odd jobs, because life is expensive here, then in go to bars and small venues to keep playing. Music saved my life”she recalls.
So far from her native land, Camara continues to learn about her new sounds and the distance with Guinea also opens her eyes to what she wants to become as an artist. In 2012, she decided to change her stage name from Nat’ to Natu, closer to her origins, and to stop singing in English and French to write in the Soussou dialect, in Peul and in Malinké.
“So far from home, but so spiritually and artistically close to my origins, that’s what my years in the United States made me realize”specifies Camara, convinced that “taking geographical distance from my Guinea made me get closer to her even more. It was a kind of revelation, back to basics”.
She met several local artists, but also befriended several African artists passing through New York, including a certain…Salif Keita. Present from time to time for concerts or recordings, the Malian legend befriends Natu, and becomes a mentor for her, who is looking to release her first album. “I grew up listening to his music, and Salif is a very important person in my life. One day, when I told him that I wanted to release an album, he said to me: ‘It’s too expensive here, renting a studio and producing your album is going to cost you an arm and a leg! Come to Mali to record with me!’I was so excited!”she smiles at the memory of this moment.
Premier album, Dimedi
In 2017, for a month, Natu and the musicians of Keita worked on an album of 8 tracks, which finally became an opus of… 16 tracks! Dimedi comes out in 2018, and Camara knows she’s finally moved up a gear in her career. “My first solo album was my new musical identity card. I did everything: wrote, produced, researched the sounds that suited me best and the musicians of Salif helped me put it all together. He always supported me, and always told me: assert yourself as a woman and an artist. You have everything to succeed“she says.
The Guinean toured North America, and went to festivals all over the United States and Canada. Her place in the ferocious American market is gradually being made for the one inspired by Miriam Makeba “for his creativity”but also Tina Turner “for his energy!” and Nina Simone for “its artistic purity”without forgetting his compatriots and idols Mory Kanté and Manfila Kanté.
“The USA have opened their arms to me. The fans are following me closely. I feel a lot of love here, a lot of support. This country has a lot of room for my afro-rock and soul style and I also want to help Guinea to finally have a place on the world map of music. I have an ambassador role that is close to my heart”, announces the one who now lives between New York and Conakry. Camara is not idle: she is in the process of producing her second album, which should be released soon, and her calendar is full of concert dates. “I want to assert myself here and continue my musical journey, and that makes me happy” she concludes.
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