Issiaka Diakité aka Ismael Isaac was born in 1966 in a griot caste in Abidjan, the then capital of the Ivory Coast. Traditionally, members of this caste are destined to make music. The disease polio crippled Isaac at the age of two. He grew up in Treichville, a densely populated area where many less educated workers live. The death of reggae legend Bob Marley in 1981 marked a turning point for the
… then 15-year-old Isaac. He started to study reggae music. After his fellow countryman Alpha Blondy made a name for himself with reggae in his own language, Isaac also decided to sing African reggae. After releasing several cassettes with Les Frères Keita, the solo albums Rahman (1990), Taxi Jump (1993) and Treich Feeling (1997) were released. With a clear and powerful voice, Isaac sings in the languages Mandinka, Malenké, Bambara, Dioula and Frans on current issues such as terrorism, war and hypocrisy. He emphasizes the importance of unity, freedom, human values and dignity. On this DVD with beautiful video clips he calls Nelson Mandela, for example, 'the silent force' and in the clip Polio he positively draws attention to those affected by this disease. (SvdP)more
