Master of the djembe and dundun drums, Sidy Maïga had just returned from a pilgrimage to his hometown, Bamako, Mali in Western Africa. It appeared as if he barely had a minute to settle back into Eastern Standard Time. His suitcases were still unpacked and forgotten in a corner. His drums were still bundled—what was the point in taking them out when he had a gig in just a few hours? With his right hand he pecked away at his laptop, and with his left arm he coddled his 6-month-old son, Adama. Even with all these distractions, Maïga was still able to welcome Tribe into his home for a little conversation and enlightenment.
Kind and reserved, Maïga sat on his family room couch eager to detail his recent adventure to the jewel in the crown of West Africa, and of his extraordinary achievements this past year. On May 14, 2011 Maïga released his debut album, Malidén, which continues to receive high praise from the music industry and is regularly featured on Malian radio. For four years he has produced the beloved Afrika Nyaga Drum & Dance Festival in Pawtucket. The festival is partly sponsored by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA), and in 2011 Maïga won the winner of their Folk Arts Fellowship in music composition. As if that weren’t enough recognition for his commitment to the arts and the community, Maïga was just named a winner of the esteemed Robert and Margaret MacColl Johnson Fellowship. Holding back giddiness, he said, “I’m very happy and looking forward to doing this work.” His modesty is beautiful.
The MacColl Johnson Fellowship, one of the largest of its kind in the country, grants $25,000 to dedicated and deserving artists, allowing them the time and resources to hone their craft. The fellowship celebrates visual and performing arts and this year Maïga won the prize for musical composition. This remarkable recognition will enable him to continue to grow as an educator and performer, two of his favorite roles. After all, becoming a virtuoso percussionist has been a priority since he banged on tin cans as a toddler.
Maïga laughed as he recalled a time when he “slacked off.” As a preteen he made it his business to become consumed by the drums. That meant sacrificing school and replacing homework with percussion. It was easy for him to cut class with the drums beckoning from the other side of the playground. He said, “I’m kind of glad I did that because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be in the place I am.” Maïga said he gains power from the drums, not just as a soloist, but also in ensembles.
When Sidy Maïga first came to the United States to spread the joy and culture of African beats, he settled in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, the nucleus of African drumming in New York City. “The drum scene in New York was great, but I came to Providence six years ago because I had the opportunity to play at Brown and become a resident at Black Rep (the former Providence Black Repertory Company).” Maïga continued, “At the Black Rep I played with their resident group AfroSonic and taught drumming to kids and adults. That was great because it kept things interesting.” Maïga maintains his fascination by teaching at numerous schools and institutions. To further expand his curriculum he decided to take his class across the ocean.
“Every year I bring my students and friends to Mali. When I go over there I teach drum and dance. I don’t dance but I get dancers from my troupe in Mali to teach. When my students aren’t learning drum and dance they go to ceremonies. There is always something musical going on. We explore the city, we go to the museum, we go to the park, we go to clubs and other live music venues,” Maïga explained. “Yes, it’s also a great time to be with my family.”
It was in 2009 that Maïga brought three students abroad for two weeks to study and absorb Malian drums. Rachel Nguyen, Maïga’s business associate, student and friend, was one of the lucky three. She began studying with him about five years ago after discovering the power of the djembe during a trip to the International AIDS Conference in South Africa. Rachel was deeply affected by the rhythm and culture and decided it was time to take djembe lessons. That’s when she learned of Maïga. Since then she has accompanied him three times to Mali and has been thrilled at how his venture has grown. “While I feel it would be overstating to say it was a life-changing relationship, it really has been. Now when I go to Mali I say I’m going to visit my family.” Rachel continued, “When I first got into djembe I bought the worst one I could find because it was cheap. Then I met Sidy at Black Rep. I took a class and was shocked at how hard it was. I have rhythm. I thought, ‘I can do this,’ but then, not so much. But it was worth watching Sidy play and my persistence paid off. I understood little by little. Five years later I’m still beginning my education and it has become a huge passion. I’m blessed with being able to learn traditional African drums, the center of their culture.”
Traditionally, drums are a method of communication used to retell stories or celebrate a wedding or a new chief. “A drum circle in Africa is very different from here,” said Maïga. “Every rhythm in Africa has a meaning and, as a drummer, you know what it is and what it means. Sometimes we sit in a circle and sometimes we all line up, but there is always one person leading or set to do the solo. It’s more choreographed. It’s what people know. A solo isn’t improvised. When you play solo, you play on top of music, something that goes with the rhythm.” Drum circles are common in America—at music festivals or the woodsy backyards of dreadlocked hippies—and while they may be fun, they seem to lack rhyme or reason. The palpable differences between an American drum circle and an African drum circle are motive and respect. “A drum circle in Africa is performance. You don’t just walk out of there or walk in. If you do leave you give the drum to another drummer. You don’t just walk off. When we do a drum circle we all know what we are doing, what each of us is supposed to play, exactly what we are supposed to do. You just can’t go crazy. When we start a rhythm, everybody knows that rhythm. But here, when people go to a drum circle, they don’t know. They just play whatever they want, because they want to feel free to do whatever they want. They don’t want to be told what to do. Drum circles have rules but some people don’t like rules.” More importantly, Maïga added, “To be able to do a drum circle you have to be able to play drums.”
Maïga attended ceremonies and learned from older and wiser performers, clearly a philosophy to which he is a steadfast adherent. “Sidy is an exceptionally gifted teacher,” said Rachel Nguyen. Normally, he doesn’t teach bit by bit, but by mimicry. It’s grueling to learn in Mali. But Maïga has adapted a Western model to identify with his students. He doesn’t talk a lot but he’s good at knowing where to push his students. I’m often amazed at what he expects to get from me. I’ve come to really trust him.”
Listening is not only a way of life for Maïga; it’s a way of teaching. “Patience. I teach them patience because I know what it is. I teach them you cannot have everything you want. Some people get frustrated, and I tell them it is okay not to get it at once.”
Outside of lessons, Maïga has a laundry list of musicians and friends he plays with, dabbling in jazz, hip-hop, rock, R&B, blues and spoken word. He is a member of Boston’s Uhuru Afrika, described as an “Afro diasporic dance floor explosion,” and plays with Providence’s one-man-cross-genre-band, Spogga. Maïga is working on his next album and spends many hours in the studio laying down tracks with a little help from his Malian friends. In the meantime, Malidén continues to reach more and more receptive ears. “People love it here, people are loving it over there. It was crazy, they were playing my music on TV and radio every day.” During his recent trip to Mali he received a new level of recognition and press coverage. He even shot two music videos. “He’s been blown away by these two huge prizes,” said Nguyen.
Maïga hopes to teach at many more colleges and schools around the world. He also hopes some of his students will become great drummers and teachers. Maïga already performs with his students but would love to see them teaching too. Drums are his pulse, and his pulse is contagious. “Drumming is tough, and you have to be tough to be able to drum. You have to make it work,” he said. “You have to prove you can make it work.”
