Early Life
While in high school, Kora joined a band called "les Missiles" where learned to play the guitar under the instruction of a Ghanaian called Salah Ben. Bil Aka Kora went to university to study math and physics, but was forced to drop out after his second year because he had neither the funds nor a scholarship to continue his studies. He then turned to music to earn a living. He began playing full time in bars and nightclubs. In 1997, the Cultural Minister of Burkina Faso, Mahamoudou Ouedraogo, initiated "Les Grands Prix Nationaux de la Musique" (National Grand Prizes of Music), which is a national competition for Burkinabé musicians. Winning the first place at this competition with another musician, Kanzai, encouraged Bil Aka Kora to keep developing his musical talent.
Read more about this topic: Bil Aka Kora
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“Yet, haply, in some lull of life,
Some Truce of God which breaks its strife,
The worldling’s eyes shall gather dew,
Dreaming in throngful city ways
Of winter joys his boyhood knew;
And dear and early friends—the few”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
“I feel nothing but the accursed happiness I have dreaded all my life long: the happiness that comes as life goes, the happiness of yielding and dreaming instead of resisting and doing, the sweetness of the fruit that is going rotten.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)