Music
From the Stage to Parliament: 10 African Musicians Who Went Into Politics
Bobi Wine, Youssou N'Dour, Professor Jay and more: 10 African musicians in politics who won seats, ran for…
Youssou N’Dour
Music
Before the Internet: 10 African Songs That Went Global the Old-Fashioned Way
From "Mbube" to "7 Seconds": 10 African songs that went global before the internet, sold millions and crossed…
Arts + Culture
Mbalax: how Senegal’s sabar drums became the country’s pop music
Mbalax is Senegal's national popular music, built on the rhythms of the Wolof sabar drums combined with guitars,…
Music
Dreadlocks, Sufi faith and a debut produced by Youssou N’Dour: Cheikh Lô
Cheikh Lô, born in 1955 to Senegalese parents in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, played with Orchestre Volta Jazz before…
Arts + Culture
Orchestra Baobab played Cuban-flavoured music in a Dakar nightclub in the 1970s. Their 2001 comeback made them world stars
Orchestra Baobab formed in 1970 as the house band at the Baobab Club in Dakar, playing a mix…
Arts + Culture
“7 Seconds” spent 16 weeks at number one in France. Its singer later became Senegal’s minister of culture
In 1994, Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry released "7 Seconds", sung in Wolof, English and French. It spent…