08/14/2026
Join us at Battery Dance festival TODAY Fri 8.14 at 6pm for a final pre-show street performance with Thio Afia7 & Afiaafia’s Sabar Drum & Dance Performance at Robert F Wagner Park before the evening of performances begins at 7pm! See you tonight!
Ibrahima “Thiokho” Diagne is a master Sabar and West African percussionist from Dakar, Senegal, whose international career has included performances and collaborations with Grammy Award-winning Angélique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Ziggy Marley, Souleman Faye, Alioune Kasse, Zall Seck, Mependa Seck, Makhou Lebou, Solo Cissoko, and Kisito Band, among others. His performance credits include DanceAfrica at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Le Ballet National du Sénégal, and stages throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and the United States. He is also a credited percussionist on Angélique Kidjo’s acclaimed 2010 album, Õÿö.
Born in Dakar in 1974, Thiokho is a member of the Bambara ethnic group, originating from Mali, West Africa. Music and art are a rich tradition in his family, and from an early age he dedicated himself to rhythm and percussion, making his own drums from discarded goat skins and buckets.
At age 15, Thiokho began studying with master Sabar drummers M’Baye Faye and Lamine Faye, who introduced him to Senegal’s professional music culture. He went on to tour throughout West Africa and, in 1997, founded his own percussion group, The New Generation: Gewel Gi Seck. In 1999, he joined Le Ballet National du Sénégal, touring internationally. Thiokho later became a percussionist and backing vocalist for Angélique Kidjo, touring extensively around the world.
A dedicated teacher as well as performer, Thiokho shares the rhythms, techniques, songs, and musical traditions of Senegal and West Africa with students and communities internationally. Since February 2026, RAC has been proud to host Thiokho’s ongoing Sabar drumming class, creating a home in East Harlem for the continued practice, transmission, and celebration of this rich rhythmic tradition.
