Dubai: During the late 80s and early 90s some exciting musical variations were coming out of Africa, as black musicians began to express themselves quite differently to the traditional music of their homeland.
Senegal-born Youssou N'Dour was a pioneer of this musical liberation as he collaborated with several influential artists including Paul Simon, Pater Gabriel, Neneh Cherry and jazz stalwart Branford Marsalis.
N'Dour inherited his extraordinary musical rhythms and skills from his mother, an oral historian who taught her young son how to explore vocal expansions that went beyond the traditional black music boundaries.
Career takes flight
But it was only when Simon featured him on Graceland in 1996 did N'Dour's career begin to take flight. He became a mainstay for Simon and a regular member of his tours, where he would showcase his skills as an opening act.
He was soon chosen to co-headline for acts like Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Tracy Chapman, on the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour in 1988. The same year he performed at the high-profile birthday concert for Nelson Mandela at a packed Wembley Stadium in London.
Collaborations
By the end of the decade he began to establish himself in the music industry and with the release of his first international album, The Lion, created a niche for himself that would lead to a string of recordings, most notable a duet with Swedish-born vocalist Cherry that would become his biggest hit. Seven Seconds is still the song that defines N'Dour and is regarded as one of the most memorable collaborations from the 90s.
In 2004 he created quite a political stir when he recorded Egypt during Ramadan, an album that went on to win a Grammy. Egypt represented a radical change of direction for N'Dour as he created rhythmic and melodic arrangements from material from the Arabic world including traditional Sufi music.
