Mamadi Kobele Keita is the Founder and Executive Director of Ebene Productions. Inspired by Africa’s courageous opposition to the non-advancement of her land, she is dedicated to safeguard, promote, develop and enhance African Culture Globally.  She is known to her friends as “kobele”, which means the strength of a tree, a name given to her late grandfather due to his ability to heal people with leafs from trees.  As the daughter of 2 ex- diplomats, kobele was exposed to different cultures at a very young age. She moved with her parents to the U.S.A at the age of 1year and went for the first time in her native Guinea when she was 10 years old.

 Kobele has had music in her heart since she was a teenage girl participating in local school events in Guinea; She was one of the pioneers of the inter school competition “School Dance Show” founded by “La C.P.P” in the early 90’s. This was the first after school event that brought together several schools in Conakry to compete in several categories (Dancing, singing, rapping, modeling, etc.. it also involved school subjects such as mathematics, history, philosophy, and biology ).  This movement was a portal for her and schoolmates to look forward to on weekends. In 1992 she returned to the U.S.A to finish high school and attend college.