Music of Senegal
Encyclopedia
Senegal
's music
al heritage is better known than that of most Africa
n countries, due to the popularity of mbalax
, which is a form of Wolof
percussive
music; it has been popularized by Youssou N'Dour
. Sabar
drumming is especially popular.
, and the people grew to adopt a French identity. Many, though not all, Senegalese identified as French instead of any African ethnicity. Post-independence, the philosophy of negritude
arose to counteract this trend. The first President of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor
(also a poet) was one of the primary exponents of negritude
, which espoused the idea that the griot traditions of Senegal were as valid, classical and meaningful as French classical music.
was the most famous orchestre. After beginning by playing American, Cuban and French songs, Star Band gradually added more indigenous elements, including the talking tama
drum and Wolof- or Mandinka-language lyrics. Star Band disintegrated into numerous groups, with Pape Seck's Number One du Senegal being the best known of the next wave of bands, followed by Orchestre Baobab
.
The south of Senegal, called Casamance
, has a strong Mandinka minority, and began producing masters of the kora
in the late 1950s. The band Touré Kunda
was the most popular group to arise from this scene, and they soon began playing large concerts across the world.
, who quickly eclipsed their compatriots, and launched the careers of El Hadji Faye and Youssou N'Dour
. Faye and N'Dour were Senegal's first pop stars, but the stress of fame soon drove the band apart. Faye and guitarist Badou N'diaye formed Étoile 2000, releasing a hit with "Boubou N'Gary", but soon disappearing from the pop scene.
N'Dour, however, went on to form Super Étoile de Dakar, and his career continued. He was soon by far the most popular performer in the country, and perhaps in all of West Africa. He introduced more traditional elements to his Senegalized Cuban music, including traditional rapping
(tassou), bakou (a kind of trilling that accompanies Wolof wrestling
) and instruments like the sabar
.
While N'Dour Africanized Cuban music, another influential band, Xalam
, was doing the same with American funk
and jazz
. They formed in 1970, led then by drummer Prosper Niang, but their controversial lyrics Àand unfamiliar jazz sound led to a lack of popularity, and the group moved to Paris in 1973. There, they added Jean Philippe Rykiel, a prominent keyboardist, and became critically touted. Xalam toured with groups like Rolling Stones and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, finally achieving success in Senegal with 1988's Xarit.
In the latter part of the 1970s, the band Super Diamono formed, fusing mbalax rhythms and militant populism with jazz and reggae
influences. Their 1982 Jigenu Ndakaru was especially the popular. By the middle of the 1980s, Super Diamono was one of the top bands in Senegal, in close and fierce competition with Super Étoile de Dakar. The band's popularity declined, however, slowed somewhat by Omar Pene
's reformation in 1991.
, a griot descended from those of Lat Dior, the king of Kayor, arose to solo stardome from Baobab, eventually forming his own band called Raam Daan
(crawl slowly towards your goal). He used electric instruments on many popular releases, especially Diongoma and Demb. The same period saw the rise of Ismael Lô
, a member of Super Diamono, who had major hits, including "Attaya", "Ceddo" and "Jele bi".
Baaba Maal
is another popular Senegalese singer. He is from Podor
and won a scholarship to study music in Paris. After returning, he studied traditional music with his blind guitarist and family griot, Mansour Seck
, and began performing with the band Daande Lenol. His Djam Leelii
, recorded in 1984, became a critical sensation in the United Kingdom
after it was released there in 1989. Maal's fusions continued into the next decade, with his Firin' in Fouta
(1994) album, which used ragga
, salsa
and Breton harp music to create a popular sound that launched the careers of Positive Black Soul
, a group of rappers, and also led to the formation of the Afro-Celt Sound System. His fusion tendencies continued on 1998's Nomad Soul, which featured Brian Eno
as one of seven producers
.
Though female performers were achieving popular breakthroughs elsewhere in West Africa, especially Mali, Senegalese women had few opportunities before the 1990s. The first international release by a woman was "Cheikh Anta Mbacke" (1989) by Kiné Lam. The song's success led to a string of female performers, including Fatou Guewel, Madiodio Gning, Daro Mbaye and Khar Mbaye Madiaga. Lam, however, remained perhaps the most influential female musician of the 90s, creating a modernized version of sabar ak xalam ensembles by adding bass guitar and synthesizer with 1993's Sunu Thiossane. The release of Fatou Guewel's CD entitled 'Fatou' in 1998 brought a new and even more influential queen to the throne of Mbalax. With her band 'Groupe Sope Noreyni', she became a huge star with many hit songs, and she remains very influential and much loved to this day.
The new century has seen the rise of Viviane Ndour, who got her first break as a backing vocalist to Youssou Ndour with Super Etoile. She is incredibly popular in Senegal and the diaspora, collaborating with French rap star Mokobe and Zouk artist Philip Montiero and incorporating RnB, Hip-Hop and other elements into her own unique style of Mbalax.
Acoustic Folk music has also left its mark on Senegal's music culture. Artists that have contributed to this genre include TAMA from Rufisque, Pape Armand Boye, les Freres Guisse, Pape et Cheikh, and Cheikh Lo.
The biggest trend in 1990s Senegal, however, was hip hop
. Traditional culture includes rapping traditions, such as the formal tassou, performed by women of the Laobe woodworking class the morning after marriages. Modern Senegalese hip hop is mostly in Wolof, alongside some English and French. Positive Black Soul
is the best-known group in the country, Daara j
and Gokh-Bi System too. Senegalese-French rapper MC Solaar
is a very well known musician. Senegalese born Akon
has risen to world fame .
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
's music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al heritage is better known than that of most Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n countries, due to the popularity of mbalax
Mbalax
Mbalax is the national popular dance music of Senegal and The Gambia. Mbalax is a fusion of popular Western music and dance such as jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal...
, which is a form of Wolof
Wolof people
The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
percussive
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
music; it has been popularized by Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
. Sabar
Sabar
The sabar - from the Serer people in origin, is traditional drum from the West African nation of Senegal. It is generally played with one hand and one stick. Among its most renowned exponents is the Senegalese musician Doudou N'Diaye Rose. The sabar was used to communicate to other villages...
drumming is especially popular.
Folk music
Senegalese folk music is distinct from ancient Mande music, or its purer expression in modern Malian music, by the influence of Serer polyphony. In addition, Senegalese folk music is more uptempo and lively than the sedate, classical sounds of Malian griots.Modern history
During the colonial era, Senegal was colonized by FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the people grew to adopt a French identity. Many, though not all, Senegalese identified as French instead of any African ethnicity. Post-independence, the philosophy of negritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
arose to counteract this trend. The first President of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal . Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese...
(also a poet) was one of the primary exponents of negritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
, which espoused the idea that the griot traditions of Senegal were as valid, classical and meaningful as French classical music.
1950s and 60s
Senegalese popular music can be traced back to the 1960s, when nightclubs hosted dance bands (orchestres) that played Western music. Ibra Kasse's Star BandStar Band
Star Band is a music group from Senegal that were the resident band of Dakar's Miami Club.Formed to celebrate Senegal's independence in 1960 the band has been host to some influential musicians, Youssou N'Dour being the most notable, and gave birth to Etoile de Dakar...
was the most famous orchestre. After beginning by playing American, Cuban and French songs, Star Band gradually added more indigenous elements, including the talking tama
Tama
-Religion:* Tama , part of the soul in the Japanese Shinto faith, roughly equivalent to ghost, spirit, or soul* Tama , a votive deposit or ex-voto used in the Eastern Orthodox Churches...
drum and Wolof- or Mandinka-language lyrics. Star Band disintegrated into numerous groups, with Pape Seck's Number One du Senegal being the best known of the next wave of bands, followed by Orchestre Baobab
Orchestre Baobab
Orchestra Baobab is a Senegalese Afro-Cuban, Son, Wolof and Pachanga band. Organized in 1970, as a multi-ethnic, multi-national club band, Orchestre Baobab adapted the then current craze for Cuban Music in West Africa to Wolof Griot culture and the Mandinga musical traditions of the Casamance...
.
The south of Senegal, called Casamance
Casamance
Casamance is the area of Senegal south of The Gambia including the Casamance River. It consists of Basse Casamance and Haute Casamance...
, has a strong Mandinka minority, and began producing masters of the kora
Kora (instrument)
The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
in the late 1950s. The band Touré Kunda
Touré Kunda
Touré Kunda is a Senegalese musical group whose 20-year career encompasses recordings in six languages and collaborations with well-known musicians such as Carlos Santana...
was the most popular group to arise from this scene, and they soon began playing large concerts across the world.
1970s-1980s
In 1977, the entire rhythm section and many other performers in the Star Band left to form Étoile de DakarÉtoile de Dakar
Étoile de Dakar were a leading music group of Senegal in the 1970s.The group was formed in 1979 by Youssou N'Dour and members of the Star Band one of Dakar's best known nightclub house bands of the 1970s...
, who quickly eclipsed their compatriots, and launched the careers of El Hadji Faye and Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
. Faye and N'Dour were Senegal's first pop stars, but the stress of fame soon drove the band apart. Faye and guitarist Badou N'diaye formed Étoile 2000, releasing a hit with "Boubou N'Gary", but soon disappearing from the pop scene.
N'Dour, however, went on to form Super Étoile de Dakar, and his career continued. He was soon by far the most popular performer in the country, and perhaps in all of West Africa. He introduced more traditional elements to his Senegalized Cuban music, including traditional rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
(tassou), bakou (a kind of trilling that accompanies Wolof wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
) and instruments like the sabar
Sabar
The sabar - from the Serer people in origin, is traditional drum from the West African nation of Senegal. It is generally played with one hand and one stick. Among its most renowned exponents is the Senegalese musician Doudou N'Diaye Rose. The sabar was used to communicate to other villages...
.
While N'Dour Africanized Cuban music, another influential band, Xalam
Xalam (band)
Xalam is the name of a Senegalese musical group founded in 1969 founded by a group of friends. The band was originally called African Khalam Orchestra....
, was doing the same with American funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. They formed in 1970, led then by drummer Prosper Niang, but their controversial lyrics Àand unfamiliar jazz sound led to a lack of popularity, and the group moved to Paris in 1973. There, they added Jean Philippe Rykiel, a prominent keyboardist, and became critically touted. Xalam toured with groups like Rolling Stones and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, finally achieving success in Senegal with 1988's Xarit.
In the latter part of the 1970s, the band Super Diamono formed, fusing mbalax rhythms and militant populism with jazz and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
influences. Their 1982 Jigenu Ndakaru was especially the popular. By the middle of the 1980s, Super Diamono was one of the top bands in Senegal, in close and fierce competition with Super Étoile de Dakar. The band's popularity declined, however, slowed somewhat by Omar Pene
Omar Pene
Omar Pene is the emblematic lead singer of the Super Diamono. He was born in the working class neighborhood of Derkle, in 1956. In the mid seventies , he joined the Super Diamono, one of the longest running Senegalese popular bands- just as the Orchestra Baobab and the Super Etoile of Dakar...
's reformation in 1991.
90s to the present
Into the 1990s, Thione SeckThione Seck
Thione Ballago Seck is one of Senegal's greatest singers and musicians in the mbalax genre, on par with Baaba Maal and Youssou N'dour although he hasn't achieved the same level of fame outside his country. Seck comes from a family of "griot" singers from the Wolof people of Senegal...
, a griot descended from those of Lat Dior, the king of Kayor, arose to solo stardome from Baobab, eventually forming his own band called Raam Daan
Raam Daan
Raam Daan is a mbalax band from Senegal, Africa. Founded in 1974 by Thione Seck, Raam Daan has risen to become one of the most popular mbalax bands in Senegal ....
(crawl slowly towards your goal). He used electric instruments on many popular releases, especially Diongoma and Demb. The same period saw the rise of Ismael Lô
Ismaël Lô
Ismaël Lô is a Senegalese musician. He was born in Dogondoutchi, Niger on 30 August 1956, to a Senegalese father and a Nigerien mother. Shortly after Lo's birth the family returned to Senegal where they settled in the town of Rufisque, near the capital Dakar. He also plays the guitar and the...
, a member of Super Diamono, who had major hits, including "Attaya", "Ceddo" and "Jele bi".
Baaba Maal
Baaba Maal
Baaba Maal is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July 2003, he was made a UNDP Youth Emissary.-Biography:Born 12 November 1953...
is another popular Senegalese singer. He is from Podor
Podor
Podor is the northernmost town in Senegal, Africa, lying on Morfil Island between the Sénégal River and Doué River. It is home to a ruined French fort, built in 1854 as a centre for gold trading, and is the birthplace of fashion designer Oumou Sy, and musicians Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck....
and won a scholarship to study music in Paris. After returning, he studied traditional music with his blind guitarist and family griot, Mansour Seck
Mansour Seck
Mansour Seck is a blind Senegalese singer and musician born in Podor, in the north of the country. Best known for his collaboration with life-long friend Baaba Maal, he has also toured and released several solo albums.-Biography:...
, and began performing with the band Daande Lenol. His Djam Leelii
Djam Leelii
Djam Leelii is the first widely known release by Baaba Maal and guitarist Mansour Seck. Several of the tracks have been released on Baaba Maal's later albums.-Track listing:All tracks by Baaba Maal# "Lam Tooro" – 6:40# "Loodo" – 6:11...
, recorded in 1984, became a critical sensation in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after it was released there in 1989. Maal's fusions continued into the next decade, with his Firin' in Fouta
Firin' in Fouta
Firin' in Fouta is an album by Senegalese singer Baaba Maal. It was released in 1994, and is his fourth release on Mango Records, including one with Mansour Seck...
(1994) album, which used ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
, salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and Breton harp music to create a popular sound that launched the careers of Positive Black Soul
Positive Black Soul
Positive Black Soul is a hip hop group based in Dakar, Senegal, one of the first such collectives in the country. Founded in 1989, the group is composed of Didier Sourou Awadi and Amadou Barry , both of whom had previously been in other hip hop groups...
, a group of rappers, and also led to the formation of the Afro-Celt Sound System. His fusion tendencies continued on 1998's Nomad Soul, which featured Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
as one of seven producers
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Though female performers were achieving popular breakthroughs elsewhere in West Africa, especially Mali, Senegalese women had few opportunities before the 1990s. The first international release by a woman was "Cheikh Anta Mbacke" (1989) by Kiné Lam. The song's success led to a string of female performers, including Fatou Guewel, Madiodio Gning, Daro Mbaye and Khar Mbaye Madiaga. Lam, however, remained perhaps the most influential female musician of the 90s, creating a modernized version of sabar ak xalam ensembles by adding bass guitar and synthesizer with 1993's Sunu Thiossane. The release of Fatou Guewel's CD entitled 'Fatou' in 1998 brought a new and even more influential queen to the throne of Mbalax. With her band 'Groupe Sope Noreyni', she became a huge star with many hit songs, and she remains very influential and much loved to this day.
The new century has seen the rise of Viviane Ndour, who got her first break as a backing vocalist to Youssou Ndour with Super Etoile. She is incredibly popular in Senegal and the diaspora, collaborating with French rap star Mokobe and Zouk artist Philip Montiero and incorporating RnB, Hip-Hop and other elements into her own unique style of Mbalax.
Acoustic Folk music has also left its mark on Senegal's music culture. Artists that have contributed to this genre include TAMA from Rufisque, Pape Armand Boye, les Freres Guisse, Pape et Cheikh, and Cheikh Lo.
The biggest trend in 1990s Senegal, however, was hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
. Traditional culture includes rapping traditions, such as the formal tassou, performed by women of the Laobe woodworking class the morning after marriages. Modern Senegalese hip hop is mostly in Wolof, alongside some English and French. Positive Black Soul
Positive Black Soul
Positive Black Soul is a hip hop group based in Dakar, Senegal, one of the first such collectives in the country. Founded in 1989, the group is composed of Didier Sourou Awadi and Amadou Barry , both of whom had previously been in other hip hop groups...
is the best-known group in the country, Daara j
Daara J
Daara J are a Senegalese rap trio that consists of N'Dongo D, Aladji Man, and Faada Freddy. Their music takes influence from hip hop, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and reggae and is performed in English, French, Spanish, and Wolof....
and Gokh-Bi System too. Senegalese-French rapper MC Solaar
MC Solaar
MC Solaar is a francophone hip hop and rap artist. He is one of the most internationally popular and influential French rappers....
is a very well known musician. Senegalese born Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
has risen to world fame .
External links
Audio clips: Traditional music of Senegal. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.- The Griot Music Documentary about a griot musician Ablaye CissokoAblaye CissokoAblaye Cissoko is a musician from Senegal, who plays the kora. His show is called "Le Griot Rouge" sounds about the legend of the man who has created the kora. During this performance, Ablaye Cissoko transmits with smoothness, grace and intelligence the values of a generous tradition and sings...
- nationalgeographic.com - NGC's Senegal Music Page