Youssou N'Dour

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Biography

'''Youssou N'Dour' (; born 1 October 1959 ) is a Senegal ese singer , percussionist , songwriter , composer , occasional actor and a candidate in the Senegalese presidential election, 2012|2012 campaign to be President of Senegal . In 2004, Rolling Stone '' described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa.Considine, J. D., and Matos, Michaelangelo, RollingStone.com , 2004.

N'Dour helped to develop a style of popular Senegalese music known in the Serer language as mbalax , which traces from the conservative Serer people|Serer music tradition of "Njuup" (the progenitor of Mbalax).
He is the subject of the award-winning films :fr:Retour à Gorée|Return to Goree directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and '' Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi , which were released around the world.

Life

N'Dour was born in Dakar to a Serer people |Serer father. At age 12, he began to perform and within a few years was performing regularly with the Star Band , Dakar's most popular group during the early 1970s. Several members of the Star Band joined Orchestra Baobab about that time.

Despite N’Dour's maternal connection to the traditional griot caste, he was not raised in that tradition, which he learned instead from his siblings. 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.

Career

In 1979, he formed his own ensemble, the Étoile de Dakar . His early work with the group was in the Latin style popular all over Africa during that time. 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.

By 1991 he had opened his own recording studio, Xippi, and, by 1995, his own record label, Jololi.

N'Dour is one of the most celebrated List of African musicians|African musicians in history . His mix of traditional Senegalese mbalax with Eclecticism|eclectic influences ranging from Cuba n samba to Hip hop music|hip hop , jazz and Soul music|soul won him an international fan base of millions. In the West, N'Dour collaborated with Peter Gabriel , Axelle Red , Sting (musician)|Sting , Alan Stivell , Bran Van 3000 , Neneh Cherry , Wyclef Jean , Paul Simon , Bruce Springsteen , Tracy Chapman , Branford Marsalis , Ryuichi Sakamoto , Dido (singer)|Dido and others.

The New York Times described his voice as an "arresting tenor, a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority".
N'Dour's work absorbed the entire Senegalese musical spectrum, often filtered through the lens of genre-defying rock or pop music from outside Senegalese culture.

In July 1993, an Africa n opera composed by N'Dour premiered at the Opéra Garnier for the French Festival Paris quartier d'été.

He wrote and performed the official anthem of the 1998 FIFA World Cup with Axelle Red "La Cour des Grands".

Folk Roots magazine described him as the African Artist of the Century. He toured internationally for thirty years. He won his first American Grammy Award ( Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album|best contemporary world music album ) for his CD Egypt (album)|Egypt in 2005.
He is the proprietor of ''L'Observateur , one of the widest-circulation newspapers in Senegal, the radio station RFM (Radio Future Medias) and the TV channel TFM.

In 2006, N'Dour played the role of the African-British abolitionist Olaudah Equiano in the movie Amazing Grace (2006 film)|Amazing Grace , which chronicled the efforts of William Wilberforce to end slavery in the British Empire.

In 2008, N'Dour offered one of his compositions, Bébé (song)|Bébé , for the French singer Cynthia Brown (singer)|Cynthia Brown .
In 2011, N'Dour was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in Music from Yale University .

Activism

N'Dour was nominated FAO Goodwill Ambassador|Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 16 October 2000.

In Senegal, N'Dour became a powerful cultural icon, actively involved in social issues. In 1985, he organized a concert for the release of Nelson Mandela . He was a featured performer in the 1988 worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now& #33; Tour collaborating with Lou Reed on a version of the Peter Gabriel song Biko (song)|Biko which was produced by Richard James Burgess and featured on the Amnesty International benefit album ''The Secret Policeman's Third Ball''. He worked with the United Nations and UNICEF , and he started Project Joko to open internet café s in Africa and to connect Senegalese communities around the world. He performed in three of the Live 8 concerts (in Live 8 concert, London , Live 8 concert, Paris and at the Live 8 concert, Eden Project in Cornwall) on 2 July 2005, with Dido (singer)|Dido . He covered John Lennon 's " Jealous Guy " for the 2007 CD Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur . He appeared in a joint Spain-Senegal ad campaign to inform the African public about the dramatic consequences of illegal immigration. N'Dour participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007.

In 2007 he became a council member of the World Future Council .
In 2009, he released his song "Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)" under a Creative Commons license to help IntraHealth International in their IntraHealth Open campaign to bring open source health applications to Africa. The song was remixed by a variety of artists including Nas , Peter Buck of R.E.M. , and Duncan Sheik to help raise money for the campaign.

At the beginning of 2012, he entered the race for the presidency of Senegal for the Senegalese presidential election, 2012|2012 presidential election , competing against Abdoulaye Wade .

Discography

Albums

Bitim Rew (1984)

Nelson Mandela (1986)

Immigrés (1988)

The Lion (1989)

Set (1990)

Eyes Open (1992)

The Guide (Wommat) (1994)

Djamil (1996)

Inedits 84-85 (1997)

''Special Fin D'annee Plus (1999)

Lii (2000)

Joko: From Village To Town (2000)

Joko: The Link (2000)

Rewmi (2000)

Le Grand Bal (2000)

St. Louis (2000)

Le Grand Bal a Bercy (2001)

Ba Tay (2002)

''Nothing's In Vain (2002)

''Youssou N'Dour and His Friends (2002)

Kirikou (2004)

Egypt (album)|Egypt (2004)

Alsaama Day (2007)

Rokku Mi Rokka (2007) — #30 in Rolling Stone 's Top 50 Albums of 2007.CHRISTGAU, ROBERT; FRICKE, DAVID; HOARD, CHRISTIAN; SHEFFIELD, ROB, RollingStone.com , 17 December 2007

''Special Fin D'annee : Salegne-Salegne (2009)

Dakar - Kingston (2010)

Mbalakh Dafay Wakh (2011)

Compilation albums

''The Best of Youssou N'Dour (1995)

Euleek Sibir with Omar (You et Pene) (1996)

Immigrés/Bitim Rew (1997)

''Best of the 80's (1998)

Hey You: The Essential Collection 1988–1990 (1998)

Birth of a Star (2001)

''Rough Guide to Youssou N'Dour & Etoile de Dakar (2002)

''7 Seconds: The Best of Youssou N'Dour (Remastered) (2004)

Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur — John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (2007)

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions								Album
Year	Title	US Billboard Hot 100	US Modern Rock Tracks chart	US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart	UK Singles Chart cite book	first= David	last= Roberts	year= 2006	title= British Hit Singles & Albums	Album	edition= 19th	publisher= Guinness World Records Limited	location= London	isbn= 1-904994-10-5	page= 388	European singles	France singles	German singles	Swedish singles
1989	"Shakin' the Tree" (with Peter Gabriel )	-	#9	-	#61	-	-	-	-	The Lion
1990	"Shakin' the Tree" (re-release)	-	-	-	#57	-	-	-	-	The Lion
1994	7 Seconds "	#98	-	-	#3	#8	#1	#3	#3	The Guide (Wommat) duet with Neneh Cherry
1995	"Undecided"	-	-	-	#53	-	-	-	-	The Guide (Wommat)
1998	"How Come" (re-release)	-	-	-	#52	-	-	-	-	Youssou N'Dour and Canibus
2002	"So Many Men" (feat. Joy Denalane )	-	-	-	-	-	# 35	-	-	''Nothing's in Vain (Coono du reer) . Duet with Pascal Obispo .

Films

Amazing Grace (2006 film)|Amazing Grace (2006)
:*As Olaudah Equiano . "A central figure in the abolitionist movement in Great Britain , Olaudah Equiano (c.1745–97) wrote an witness|eyewitness account of his life as a slave and of his work in the anti-slavery movement: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano ."
:*As a musician on the film's soundtrack .
Retour à Gorée (2007)
:*As himself, journeying from the island of Gorée to the USA and back, exploring the origins of jazz, which go back to the era of slave trade in Africa, through a concert performed by an international group of artists.
Youssou N´Dour: I Bring What I Love (2008)
:*As himself, through the recording of Egypt album and its repercussions.
:*Released in the US on DVD by Oscilloscope Laboratories .

References

External links

Copyright Citations

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1. Dido Armstrong 2. Bran Van 3000 3. Angelique Kidjo 4. Misia 5. Eric Wainaina 6. Ryuichi Sakamoto 7. David Sanborn 8. Seven Seconds 9. Pascal Obispo 10. Wally Badarou 11. Baaba Maal 12. David Sancious 13. James Newton Howard 14. Alan Stivell 15. Axelle Red 16. Brothers Keepers 17. Charles Aznavour 18. Claudio Baglioni 19. Gabriel, Peter 20. Los Prisioneros 21. Love Like Blood 22. Passi 23. Sanborn, David 24. Angélique Kidjo 25. Orchestra Baobab

Undetermined Music Artists