BAM Affiliation Malian rapper Amkoullel is part of a new wave of African hip-hop artists. He started getting serious about rap at the age of 13 when, in his first experience on the radio, he was banned by auditors. A year later he organized his first rap concert using scholarship money. He went to France to study law but soon abandoned that path when he realized that he would rather be the voice of the voiceless on stage. Amkoullel has released three albums and has been honored at the Mali Hip-Hop Awards three times.