NEW YORK – A few years back, Senegalese music star Youssou N’Dour composed a series of songs celebrating his Islamic faith. He originally wrote the devotional music for his family and friends to listen to during Ramadan but then decided to release it as an album.
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, and their aftermath changed his mind.
The album “started when the world was doing a little better, and I refused to issue it when the world was going very, very badly,” N’Dour said.
Now N’Dour believes the time is right for the world to hear the collection, titled “Egypt” for its U.S. release. “People have started to learn so many things,” he said carefully. “They are starting to respect a little more diversity.”
Released last month, “Egypt” has been greeted with rapturous reviews. The album was recorded in Cairo, where N’Dour collaborated with bandleader Fathy Salama, fusing Senegalese and Egyptian musical elements. N’Dour sings in Wolof, one of many languages spoken in Senegal. Translations are provided, revealing that the songs extol Senegal’s revered Sufi saints and spiritual leaders. In the liner notes, N’Dour is quoted as saying the album “praises the tolerance of my religion.”
For N’Dour, “Egypt” is not necessarily political. “Politics is something very different,” he said. “It is perhaps in everything, but it’s mostly about the interest of the politicians.”
But N’Dour has made political statements before. In spring 2003, he canceled what would have been his biggest U.S. tour yet to protest the invasion of Iraq.
He suspects the decision cost him something. “Perhaps there are people who are saying, ‘this is an artist who is not serious, who had a program to do and didn’t’,” he said. “Perhaps also if there was an economic side to it, I lost because of that.”
N’Dour is currently touring the United States. “There came a moment that they said the war is over, is finished,” he said, explaining his decision to return to the States, “even though the war is not finished.”
Now 44, N’Dour first came to the attention of many Westerners in the mid-’80s, when adventurous music fans discovered some of Africa’s remarkable artists. In 1984, British rock star Peter Gabriel heard N’Dour perform and became a fan, helping him sign a record contract. N’Dour then toured with Gabriel.
and appeared on his single “In Your Eyes,” which became an international hit. N’Dour also performed on Amnesty International’s 1988 Human Rights Now! tour with such pop luminaries as Bruce Springsteen and Sting.
N’Dour was born and raised in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, where his father worked as a mechanic. His mother came from a family of griots, traditional singers and storytellers who have long served as the culture’s oral historians. They lived in a teeming area known as Medina, where most homes sheltered as many as 20 people and, N’Dour said, “you would discover things little by little by yourself in the neighborhood.”
He started performing at 12, singing at male circumcision festivities and at other parties. Still, he was surprised when people praised his voice. “I didn’t have much confidence in myself,” he recalled.
Overcoming his insecurities and defying his father’s wishes, N’Dour pursued a career in music. By the time he was in his teens, he and his friends were performing outside clubs they couldn’t get into. Soon he joined the city’s top band, but within a couple of years he left to create his own ensemble. He was a top star by 21.
His profile may rise and fall in the rest of the world, but at home, N’Dour is Senegal’s superstar. “Everything that happens in the first pages of the newspaper has to do with me,” he said matter-of-factly.
Youssou N’Dour performs tonight at the Paramount in Seattle.
Youssou N’Dour
8 p.m. today, Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle. $20-$25, 206-628-0888.
Youssou N’Dour
8 p.m. today, Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle. $20-$25, 206-628-0888.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
