photos by Lori Baily

Pitchfork: As the daughter of a diplomat, you must have traveled a lot. How does that experience inform your music?

Rokia Traoré: My father was not able to get all the vinyl he used to listen to with me. He couldn't travel as he did it because of his profession as a diplomatic career. The fact of playing an instrument and singing... that I can try to make my dream of singing and becoming a professional musician come true is linked probably to the fact that I traveled a lot, which gave me an open mind and an ability to push my limits. Probably, traveling so early changed my personality and gave me this ability today to do the music I do and to think in a certain way that everything can be possible. You just have to try before thinking that you can't.

Rokia will next be here in August. On August 7th she plays the Damrosch Park Bandshell as part of the Lincoln Center Out Of Doors festival, and one day earlier she'll play a free lunch-time show at Metrotech in Brooklyn. The 2009 "BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival" lineup also includes Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and "A New Orleans R&B legend, to be announced". Full Metrotech lineup, and more Rokia tour dates and pictures, below...

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