Biography
With Rokku Mi Rokka (Give And Take), Senegal’s king of mbalax continues the journey deep inside the traditions of his country that began with the release of Nothing’s In Vain and the Grammy-winning Egypt, the two albums now considered his most remarkable achievements to date. More than 25 years into a career that scaled heights once unimaginable for African music, he is still setting the pace for all artists in West Africa. “What keeps me passionate about music is the freedom I have,” he says. “The freedom to use different sounds and find different vibes. I started my professional life interpreting Cuban music, then I sang mbalax and pop, and I think that if I had stayed in one style I would have got a little tired. But, you know, I also have a reputation for bringing something new to the world outside Africa.” Born in 1959, Youssou first achieved fame as a twelve-year-old who sang at religious ceremonies; by sixteen he was a de facto star, singing with one of the most popular bands of the 1970s, Etoile De Dakar. In the 1980s, as leader of the Super Etoile, he developed a new African form of music known as mbalax. “The problem for some people is that mbalax is a complex music. If you don’t know our language, Wolof, or our culture, you will get confused, you won’t understand the references. So I had to take a decision to make it easy for people to understand me. I want to communicate with everybody.” With the global hit single “7 Seconds”, Youssou achieved his goal of reaching out to the whole world. “It opened doors for me and for my music,” he smiles, “It was a magical opportunity.” But with the planet waiting for another “7 Seconds”, he turned his back on making pop records and drew his new audience into the world of traditional Senegalese music (on Nothing’s In Vain, released in 2002) and spirituality (on Egypt, a collaboration with the Fathy Salama Orchestra, released in 2004). On Rokku Mi Rokka, he continues his adventures in traditional music, but with a twist. “The music and inspiration on this album are from the north, from the desert, from parts of the country that border on Mali and Mauritania. People from those countries will know and understand this music as well as people who come from the centre of Senegal. It’s this interaction between two worlds that intrigues N’Dour in 2007. Last year, he appeared in his first Hollywood movie, playing the freed slave Olaudah Equiano in the film Amazing Grace, which told the story of William Wilberforce’s efforts to abolish slavery. “When I read Equiano’s autobiography, I understood that he and I are trying to do a lot of the same things. A lot of the African story about the abolition of slavery remains untold.”
In 2005, he was the sole African to sing on the London stage of Live 8, where he performed “7 Seconds” with Dido before taking a helicopter to appear at the Cornwall concert, and then a plane to the Paris show. “There was a real misunderstanding in the organisation of those concerts. I think people like Bob Geldof and Bono now know they would have to involve African musicians if there was another project like this.” But if Live 8 cemented Youssou’s position as the most important African musician of his time, there have been growing rumours that he considering moving into politics. “No, I don’t need to be a politician. A lot of problems in Africa are caused by people getting important political positions when they are not experienced politicians. I’m involved in justice, in human rights: what I’m doing is more than politics and I’m doing my best while following my passion, my music.” And so, in 2006, Youssou returned to Xippi Studios. “We recorded about 20 songs and then we had to decide how to mix them. It’s crazy, but Africans like the sound of keyboards and modern instruments, the rest of the world wants Africa’s traditional instruments, but audiences in Africa won’t react to the music unless we use modern instruments. The only thing both audiences like is lots of space for my voice. I have to mix the songs not to sell, but to deliver them to different audiences, so there is an African version and one for the rest of the world.” To ensure the necessary authenticity in the songs he was writing, Youssou sought out Bah Mody, one of the north’s most popular singers. “Next year, I’m going to help him record his own album, I really want people to hear what he can do. We had this great feeling going between us, the direction we took is the result of real teamwork.” For the music, Youssou returned to the band he helped form a quarter of a century ago, the Super Etoile, and old friends Habib Faye (bass), Babacar “Mbaye Dieye” Faye (percussion) and Papa Oumar Ngom (guitar), who have been part of Youssou’s journey for more than 20 years. “They are not from the north, but they are Senegalese, they understand exactly what is happening in the north, the south and the centre. What I believe is that the instruments are not the important thing. What matters is the expression. I can choose from a lot of great musicians when I record, but these guys understand how to express what I am looking for.” There are a few addition to the team, however. The Malian musician Bassekou Kouyaté, previously best know as a member of Ali Farka Touré’s band, adds ngoni, a four-stringed ancestor of the banjo, to Sama Gàmmu. The same song also features the voice of Ousmane Kangue a singer from the north, described by Youssou as simply “great, like Baaba Maal”. Additionally Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis of Orchestra Baobab, who were in N’Dour’s studio recording their album on the day he recorded this “Xel”, sing on that track. The return of Neneh Cherry, who duets with Youssou on “Wake Up (It’s Africa Calling)”, was a definite highpoint of the sessions. “Neneh and ‘7 Seconds’ have been a huge part of my career since 1994, and we kept a connection. She looks like my sister, and we were these people from Africa who were delivering a message to the world. We’re not trying to have another ‘7 Seconds’ as this is a much more African-sounding song, featuring our instruments, such as kora. Neneh really liked the vibe we had. We come from the same continent and have a message. “Music is a language, maybe the first language, and I use it to deliver a message because people can hear it and understand it first, quicker than if they waited for a newspaper. I sing about reality, about my society, which is more than just Senegal or Africa. I sing about the world.”
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