In Mali, on July 29, 2021, the artist Dr Kebest was kidnapped by a terrorist group with two members of his team, while he was touring the Timbuktu region. He was detained for three months and released in November. On the evening of Saturday, March 12, Dr. Keb gave his first concert since his release at the Palais de la Culture in Bamako.
as reported from Bamako, Kaourou Magassa
It is a little after one in the morning when Amadou Kébé, aka Dr Keb arrives at the Palais de la Cultures esplanade. White coat and stethoscope around his neck, his musicians and friends congratulate him in the locker rooms: “I can not wait to go up on stage. Because it’s been a long time since, this is … putting in the package to put on a great show for the fans. “
Thanks on the podium, his first words are words of thanks to his audience.
Amadou Togo, the producer, is proud of his protégé. He sees in this show a rebirth of the artist he represents: “After three months in captivity, many believed that when he returned, because he had been taken by Islamists, it would be the end of his music. Today is an opportunity for him to assert himself fully.Today he will show the whole world that his music will not end there.
Prior to his captivity, Dr. Keb was one of the only leading artists who dared to continue performing in the north of the country, despite the insecurity.
“He is unique” Fousseini Kanté, comedian, praises his courage then: “We can not say that it is possible to do a concert here in Bamako and not do a concert there in the north. Since the risks must always be taken, what he has done, I will say that he is unique, it is unique of him.
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For more than two hours in front of 8,000 people, Dr. Keb is flooded with energy … he dances, smiles, teases the audience to the rhythm of his compositions, a return to the front of the stage in the form of a celebration of freedom.
