Ismaël Lô is a versatile singer and artist, he plays the guitar and the harmonica. He was born in Dogondoutchi in Niger on 30 August 1956 to a Senegalese father and a Nigerian mother. Shortly after Lô's birth the family returned to Senegal where they settled in the town of Rufisque, near the capital Dakar. In the 1970s, Lô studied at the School of Art in Dakar later joining the popular Super Diamono. He left the group in 1984 to start a solo career. Over the next four years Lô recorded five popular solo albums.