By Ali Farka Toure | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Ali Farka Toure was a fantastic singer-composer-musician and also an exceptionally well-grounded individual who, after touring the U.S. and Europe to great acclaim, returned to his village in Timbuktu, Mali, to work as a fruit and rice farmer. Later he served as the Mayor of the Niafunke region where his projects included malaria eradication and tree planting.