Youssou N'Dour

Country	Senegal

Youssou N'Dour, born in Dakar, Senegal, on October 1, 1959, is a renowned singer, songwriter, composer, and, at one point, a politician, whose powerful and expressive voice helped introduce Senegalese music to a global audience. Raised in a devout Muslim household, his mother and grandmother came from a line of griots, the traditional West African storytellers and musicians, an identity which N'Dour embraced as a "modern griot."
He began performing casually at age twelve at local celebrations and by his mid-teens was singing regularly with the Star Band, one of Dakar's most popular groups. In 1979, he formed his own ensemble, Étoile de Dakar, which was later renamed Super Étoile de Dakar. N'Dour and his band were credited with developing and popularizing mbalax, a style of Senegalese popular music that fuses traditional Wolof sabar and tama percussion rhythms and vocal forms with Afro-Cuban, jazz, soul, and other international influences.

N'Dour gained international attention in the mid-1980s through collaborations with Western artists like Peter Gabriel, particularly on the song "In Your Eyes," and for his involvement in the 1988 Amnesty International "Human Rights Now!" tour. His worldwide fame skyrocketed with his 1994 hit duet with Neneh Cherry, "7 Seconds," which became a major global success.

Throughout his career, N'Dour used his music to address pressing social and political issues, such as apartheid, human rights, and African cultural identity. His 2004 album, Egypt, a tribute to Senegalese Sufi Muslim leaders, won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Beyond his musical endeavors, N'Dour is a prominent businessman, establishing a recording studio, a record label, and a media group in Dakar. He also served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 2012, he briefly suspended his music career to enter the political arena, running for president of Senegal, and later serving as the country's Minister of Tourism and Culture from 2012 to 2013. He continues to record and perform, remaining a vital cultural icon and advocate for global social change.