Senegalese music is primarily discussed in terms of mbalax, the most well-known Senegalese music genre and a development of the serer sabar drum kit popularized by Youssou N’Dour.
Despite the impact of Mbalax in Senegalese music, the country’s music offering doesn’t stop there. Senegalese music is very diverse and is subject to numerous influences. What is known as modern music from Senegal really caught on in the 1960s. Senegal was then a newly independent country.
Music in Senegal at the time was heavily influenced by Latin vibes and the musicians mostly sang in Spanish and named their bands after American music and cities. At the time, top local bands included Tropical Jazz, Guinea Jazz, Harlem Jazz, and Star Band.
In the early 1970s, Senegal got a Poets President. President Leopold Sédar Senghor was a famous poet and during his decision stated the need to form a band that would reflect local life and culture and entertain the country’s official guests.
At that time, the instruments used by most Senegalese musicians were modern instruments. However, a group called Number One stood out and began using traditional instruments in their performances. Mbalax emerged when orchestras popularized a mix of salsa and typically Senegalese drums.
Percussion plays a central role in this genre of music, while instruments such as organs, guitars and brass are also very important. There is a strong Fela Kuti influence that gives a more African feel.
Since then, Senegalese music has come a long way and here we bring you the men and women who are dominating the scene.
Fatou
Fatou Guewel Diouf comes from a traditional griot family in Senegal, beginning her singing career via the Mouride of Senegal, Cheikh Mohamadou Kara Mbacke. Fatou Guewel is currently Senegal’s most popular artist. She is young, productive and energetic. Fatou makes street or traditional mbalax. The rhythm is set by a simple xalam, keyboards and bass guitar, above which Fatou’s majestic voice soars and sinks into emotion and strength.
Baaba Maal
Baaba Maal devoted himself to music learning from his mother and from the principal. He then studied music at the University of Dakar before receiving a postgraduate scholarship at Beaux-Arts in Paris. He has become quite famous in Africa. After Youssou N’Dour, he is the most internationally renowned musician from Senegal.
Youssou N’Dour
Youssou N’Dour is a singer, percussionist and occasional actor. N’Dour is one of the most famous African musicians in history. His blend of traditional Senegalese mbalax with eclectic influences from Cuban rumba to hip hop, jazz and soul has garnered him an international following of millions.
Wasis Diop
Wasis Diop is an internationally renowned musician known for fusing traditional Senegalese folk music with modern pop and jazz. He is the son of a Senegalese high official and a member of the Lebou tribe. Diop left Senegal in the 1970s to study engineering in Paris, but turned to music there and formed the band West African Cosmos with Umban Ukset.
He left the band in 1979 to pursue a solo career and enjoyed some small successes over the next decade, notably in partnerships with singer Marie-France Anglade and jazz saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that his career took off with the success of his first album, the soundtrack to the film Hyenes (directed by his brother Djibril Diop Mambety).
Viviane Chichid
Viviane Chihid is an emerging singer from Senegal. She uses a mix of contemporary Senegalese mbalax, hip-hop and R&B. She loved music from a young age and took the opportunity to sing with bands in the local resort’s hotels. Her big break came in 1993 when she joined the acclaimed Super Etoile, conducted by Youssou N’Dour, as a backing vocalist.
Viviane is married to Boubacar, Youssou’s brother, and they all work very closely together in the music business at Xippi Studios in Dakar. Viviane can be heard on several tracks on Youssou’s 1994 CD The Guide (Wommat) and 2002 CD Nothing’s in Vain.
Diogal Sakho
Diogal Sakho was born in 1970 in a smallSenegalese village. He is a member of the Lébou clan of fishermen on the Senegalese coast. He taught himself to play the guitar and soon began composing his own songs. In 1996, Loy Ehrlich (who played with Touré Kunda, Youssou N’dour and Geoffrey Oryema, among others) noticed Diogal’s talent and helped him record his first two cassettes for the Senegalese market.
Coumba Gawlo
Coumba Gawlo is a Senegalese artist who blends traditional griot structures with modern approaches to recording. Born Coumba Seck in 1972, she has been releasing recordings from Senegal and France since 1990.
Ishmael Lo
In the 1970s, Lô studied at the School of Art in Dakar and later joined the popular Super Diamono. He left the group in 1984 to pursue a solo career. Over the next four years, Lô recorded five popular solo albums. In 1990 he signed a record deal with Barclay and recorded his sixth solo album Ismaël Lô in France. Thanks to the success of the single Tajabone, the album became a hit on the European charts and launched his international career.
Iso was recorded and released in 1994 and also became a success. The album features soft guitar melodies and traditional Senegalese mbalax. The following year, Lô toured Africa. The compilation album Jammu Africa was released in 1996.