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His name is Moulaye Dicko, but we know him as Dicko Fils (Dicko Jr). In a career spanning some 20 years, this musician from Burkina Faso, who plays the kora and the n’goni, has produced twelve albums, including the very recent La route (the road). A star in his homeland and in a large part of West Africa, the artist nevertheless had to take the path of exile and settle in Montreal. Because, you see, this rather shy man has will and courage underneath: since 2016 he has been committed to a humanist cause, that of combating certain ancestral traditions such as forced marriages of young girls, excision, and the refusal to educate girls to confine them to the role of housewife. This courageous commitment in a society that is still very attached to these customs has led to problems with opponents. These problems were serious enough to force him to move to colder climes, which are more forgiving for this kind of activism.
So it was in Montreal that Dicko Fils put the finishing touches to La route, the twelfth album of his career. It’s an album that follows in the same footsteps as his previous ones, adapting the rhythms, instrumental colours and melodic characteristics of traditional Fulani music to modern times. Both through the cohabitation of traditional and modern instruments (guitars, drums, electronic instruments), there is also the contribution of stylistic facets imported from other musical genres that allow Dicko’s music to tie in with that of other stars of West African music. Salif Keita and Oumou Sangaré spring to mind. Here again, according to Dicko, this modernization has not always been easy. Some criticised him for ‘spoiling’ the Fulani tradition. But he continued on his way, earning appreciable dividends such as the appreciation and admiration of a new generation of Fulani musicians who are now following in his footsteps.
When I ask him to make an assessment of his career, these 20 years of music and the results of which he is proud, he tells me that it is the message of peace between peoples that has been heard by thousands and thousands of his compatriots that makes him think that there is reason to be positive. But all the same, he had to go into exile. The fight can’t stop yet, and he says he’s ready to fight it from here on in.
Many festival representatives attended the launch concert at Balattou on March 8, 2025, resulting in Dicko’s commitments for the next season from Quebec to Hamilton, via Ottawa and Halifax (and Montreal, of course).
I asked him how his relocation went. He doesn’t lie: it’s been difficult. He was on tour when serious threats were made. So the exile was very sudden, without much thought or preparation. But Dicko already had a good network in Quebec. Montreal has long been a city visited by the artist on his many tours. Productions Nuits d’Afrique and other friends helped him land relatively smoothly. There’s no doubt that the positive reception he’s received is helping him to absorb the shock and concentrate on pursuing his mission and his career (the two are now intimately linked).
It’s a well-crafted, beautifully produced Afro pop album with all the qualities needed to stand out on the stages where Dicko Fils will be performing, and in playlists everywhere. Already, he confirms, he has received calls from elsewhere in the world to present it in concert. So, the road is ahead, not behind.
