In the West, N'Dour collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Axelle Red, Sting, Alan Stivell, Bran Van 3000, Neneh Cherry, Wyclef Jean, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, James Newton Howard, Branford Marsalis, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dido, Lou Reed, Bruce Cockburn, and others. His mix of traditional Senegalese mbalax with eclectic influences ranging from Cuban rumba to hip hop, jazz, and soul won him an international fan base of millions. N'Dour is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history. In the 1980s, he developed a unique sound with his ultimate group, Super Étoile de Dakar featuring Jimi Mbaye on guitar, bassist Habib Faye, and tama (talking drum) player Assane Thiam.īy 1991, he had opened his own recording studio, and, by 1995, his own record label, Jololi. His early work with the group, in the Latin style, was popular all over Africa during that time. In 1979, he formed his own ensemble, the Étoile de Dakar. His parents' world view encouraged a modern outlook, leaving him open to two cultures and thereby inspiring N'Dour's identity as a modern griot. Several members of the Star Band joined Orchestra Baobab at about that time.ĭespite N'Dour's maternal connection to the traditional griot caste, he was not raised in that tradition, which he learned instead from his siblings.
He started performing at age 12 and was performing regularly with the Star Band, Dakar's most popular group during the early 1970s, within a few years. N'Dour was born in Dakar to a Wolof mother and a Serer father. In 2006, N'Dour was cast as Olaudah Equiano in the film Amazing Grace. He is the subject of the award-winning films Return to Gorée (2007) directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love (2008) directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, which were released around the world. N'Dour helped to develop a style of popular Senegalese music known in the Serer language as mbalax, which derives from the conservative Serer music tradition of "Njuup". From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa. Youssou N'Dour ( French pronunciation: born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician.
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