Fatoumata Diawara shares her ultimate guitar inspiration.]

Grammy-nominated Malian guitarist, singer-songwriter, and actress Fatoumata Diawara recently made history by becoming the first woman of color to be honored with an Epiphone signature model.

And, while Diawara is indeed a modern day guitar hero, she’s also quick to acknowledge the guitarists who came before her, including who she deems her biggest guitar hero – Jimi Hendrix.

“I don’t think anyone has changed the world as much with their guitar,” she says in the latest issue of Guitarist. “I’m trying to do something similar through my own music, using my personality to create, and inspiring people in the process.”

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As for what she’s learned from Hendrix’s music and playing style, she says that it’s “all about finding your own sound, something that’s completely unique to you.

Fatoumata Diawara in Concert – 30th Africa Festival Würzburg (2018) – YouTube

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“I’m learning by myself and trying not to listen to other people. I didn’t study anything; I’m just making it up as I go along, finding my way through the blues. It’s more about the human soul, emotion, and self-expression. I just want to play from the heart. It’s about quality, not quantity. That’s what Jimi did.”

Diawara is, of course, a changemaker herself in her own right, and her first signature guitar continues to prove it. “If I can help wake up a new generation of African or female players, that makes me twice as proud. People following me will see this guitar and say, ‘Okay, it’s possible for a Black woman to do this!’” she asserts.

The Epiphone Fatoumata Diawara SG was described by our Guitar World expert reviewers as a “jaw-dropping SG with a standout body artwork that honors her heritage” with a “very broad and usable range of voice.”