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While it's true that Dawda Jobarteh was born into an illustrious Gambian family of griots, hereditary court musicians and especially kora players (his father was Amadou Bansang Jobarteh, his uncles were Dembo Konté and Malamini Jobarteh, and his grandfather was the great Alhaji Bai Konté), it doesn't necessarily follow that he upholds family tradition. Griots learn their craft and repertoire over many years of study with their elders, starting in childhood, but Dawda was an adult when he picked up a kora for the first time, and by then he was far from Africa, his elders, and their tradition.