(b Dakar, 1959 ). Senegalese musician. A Wolof singer with a remarkably flexible voice and a wide range, Youssou N'Dour began singing with Sine Dramatic at the age of 12, and by the age of 15 he was a star, singing with Super Diamono. Several years later he joined the Star Band in Dakar. N'Dour formed Étoile de Dakar in 1979, a group that went on to tour Europe before reforming as Super Étoile de Dakar in 1981. In 1983 he opened his own club in Dakar, the Thiosanne, a venue he used to perfect his craft. He is perhaps the best known performer of Mbalax, a distinctive Senegalese music based on the rhythm produced on the mbung mbung drum. His home concerts appeal greatly to elegantly dressed Wolof women who perform the ventilateur dance during concerts in which they expose their legs, dancing wildly in their floor-length boubous. N'Dour toured the world as part of the ‘Human Rights Now!’ 1988 tour. He owns and operates a recording studio and record label in Dakar, promoting local talent.
Immigrés, Celluloid CEL6709 (1988)
W. Bender: ‘The Griot Style’, Sweet Mother: Modern African Music (Chicago, 1991), 1–41
Eyes Open, Columbia CD471186 2 (1992)
Étoile de Dakar, Stern's STCD3004, 3006, 3012, 3014 (1993–)
The Guide, Columbia CD476508 2 (1994)
GREGORY F. BARZ