|
Mbalax
Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the national popular dance music of Senegal and the Gambia. In the 1970s, mbalax emerged as the distinctive sound of postcolonial Senegal. Derived from a fusion of indigenous Wolof sabar drumming with popular music principally from the African diaspora and African popular music, and to a lesser extent Western pop and afropop. Although the fusion of indigenous music with urban dance music from the diaspora and west is not new, the pan-ethnic quality of urban Wolofness provided a space for the inclusion and representation of a plethora of ethnic sounds of the Pulaar/Tukulor, Sereer, Soce, Mande and other groups from the Greater Senegambia Region. The name mbalax derives from the accompanying rhythms of the Wolof sabar and was coined by Youssou N'Dour even though, as he has stated, there were many other groups in urban Senegal fusing these traditional sounds with modern music. History and influence The traditional form of ''mbalax'' originated from the ''saba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Njuup
The Njuup tradition is a Serer style of music rooted in the Ndut initiation rite, which is a rite of passage that young Serers must go through once in their lifetime as commanded in the Serer religion. The Culture trip "Youssou N'Dour: An Unlikely Politician"(Retrieved : 28 June 2012) History Njuup songs are religious in nature. For a large part of its history, Njuup was only used within the Ndut ritual. The history of Njuup comes from the older Ndut style of teachings. Young Serer boys in the ndut (nest) were required to create religious tunes during their rite of passage to take their minds off the transitional experience, build their aesthetic skills, and enhance their spirituality. The veneration of Serer Pangool influenced the songs of the Ndut, including Njuup. Gravrand, HenryLe Ndut dans « L'héritage spirituel sereer : valuer traditionnelle d'hier, d'aujourd'hui et de demain » n''Éthiopiques'' n° 31 Modern Senegambian artists who sing the purest form of Njuup in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa. From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism. N'Dour helped develop a style of popular Senegalese music known by all Senegambians (including the Wolof) as ''mbalax,'' a genre that has sacred origins in the Serer music njuup tradition and ndut initiation ceremonies.Sturman, Janet''The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture'' SAGE Publications (2019), p. 1926, . Retrieved 13 July 2019.Connolly, Sean, ''Senegal'', Bradt Travel Guides (2009), p. 27, (Retrieved 13 July 2019) He is the subject of the award-winning films '' Retour à Gorée, Return to Gorée'' (2007) directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and '' Youssou N'Dour: I B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super Diamono
Super Diamono was a ten-member band from Dakar, Senegal. It was formed in 1974 or 1975.Senegal 7, ''Anniversaire : Omar Pène souffle sur ses 63 bougies ce 28 décembre'', by Ibrahima Ka (December 28, 2019(retrieved February 13, 2020) Omar Pene was a founding-member, and the group was alternately led by the singers Mamadou Lamine Maïga and Musa Ngum. It started with traditional West African music, but quickly turned to an Afro-Cuban and pop-influenced sound. From 1977 they called their music "Mbalax-blues".Mazzoleni, Florent, ''L'épopée de la musique africaine: rythmes d'Afrique atlantique'', Hors collection (2008), p. 81, In 1979, Ismaël Lô, a co-founder of the group, rejoined the band as a guitar player, but soon left again for his solo career.Hardy, Phil, ''The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music'', Da Capo Press (1995), p. 682, Appiah, Anthony, Gates, Henry Louis, ''Encyclopedia of Africa, Volume 1'', Oxford University Press (2010), p. 562,/ref> According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tama (percussion)
The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitch of the drum by scraping the cords between their arm and body. In the 18th century, talking drum players used tones to disseminate messages, such as news of ceremonies and commands, over 4-5 mile distances. A skilled player is able to play whole phrases. Most talking drums sound like a human humming depending on the way they are played. Similar hourglass-shaped drums are found in Asia, but they are not used to mimic conversation, although the idakka is used to mimic vocal music. Five varieties of ''dùndún'' pressure drums of the Yoruba and the ''atumpan'' and ''fontomfrom'' of the Asante (Ashanti) are especially notable. They send messages up to 20 miles (32 km), where other drummers relay them, quickly spreading news. Names in We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabar
The sabar is a traditional drum from Senegal that is also played in the Gambia. It is associated with Wolof and Serer people. From the Sine-Saloum (two Serer precolonial kingdoms: and . It originated from Sine and entered Saloum. Wolof migrants to Serer Saloum picked it up from their. See |
Wolof Music
The Wolof, the largest ethnic group in Senegal, have a distinctive musical tradition that, along with the influence of neighboring Fulani, Tukulor, Serer, Jola, and Malinke cultures, has contributed greatly to popular Senegalese music, and to West African music in general. Wolof music takes its roots from the Serer musical tradition, particularly from the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Saloum. Virtually all Wolof musical terminology including musical instruments comes from the Serer language.Masters of the sabar: Wolof griot percussionists of Senegal. Page 46. By Patricia Tang Griot tradition Wolof musicians were traditionally drawn from the griots (''géwél''), or of the blacksmith caste (''tëgg''), who were masters of drumming. Griots taught history, ethics and religion using their songs and recitations, and were employed by powerful members of the community as praise-singers and historians. Today many modern Wolof musicians still come from Griot families. After th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabar
The sabar is a traditional drum from Senegal that is also played in the Gambia. It is associated with Wolof and Serer people. From the Sine-Saloum (two Serer precolonial kingdoms: and . It originated from Sine and entered Saloum. Wolof migrants to Serer Saloum picked it up from their. See |
Serer People
The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group."Charisma and Ethnicity in Political Context: A Case Study in the Establishment of a Senegalese Religious Clientele" Leonardo A. Villalón, Journal of the , Vol. 63, No. 1 (1993), p. 95, on behalf of the International African Institute They are the third-largest ethnic group in Senegal, making up 15% of the Senegalese pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thione Seck
Thione Ballago Seck (March 12, 1955 – March 14, 2021) was a Senegalese singer and songwriter in the mbalakh genre. Seck came from a family of griot singers from the Wolof people of Senegal. He first performed with Orchestre Baobab, but he later formed his own band, Raam Daan, of which he was a member until his death in 2021. Early life Seck was born in Dakar on March 12, 1955. He was of Wolof descent and was raised Muslim. He first joined Orchestra Baobab in the 1970s. After a decade of performing with the group, he established Raam Daan. Career Seck's album ''Orientation'' was one of four nominated for BBC Radio 3's World Music Album of the Year in 2006. In much of his music, and notably on this album, Seck experiments with the use of Indian & Arabic scales. This supplements his laid back vocals and the band's intense sabar driven rhythms, and displaces the band's more usual guitars, horns, and synthesizers. This album was made in collaboration with a range of more than 4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afropop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of popular music like blues, jazz, afrobeats, salsa, zouk, and rumba derive to varying degrees on musical traditions from Africa, taken to the Americas by enslaved Africans. These rhythms and sounds have subsequently been adapted by newer genres like rock, and rhythm and blues. Likewise, African popular music has adopted elements, particularly the musical instruments and recording studio techniques of western music. The term does not refer to a specific style or sound but is used as a general term for African popular music. Influence of Afro-Cuban music Cuban music has been popular in Sub-Saharan Africa since the mid-twentieth century. It was Cuban music, more than any other, that provided the initial template for Afropop. To the Africans, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية), is a sovereign country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest. Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world, and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. Most of its population of 4.4 million lives in the temperate south of the country, with roughly one-third concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast. The country's name derives from the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania, located in North Africa within the ancient Maghreb. Berbers occupied what is now Mauritania ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The population of Mali is million. 67% of its population was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The country's southern part is in the Sudanian savanna, where the majority of inhabitants live, and both the Niger and Senegal rivers pass through. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining. One of Mali's most prominent natural resources is gold, and the country is the third largest producer of gold on the African continent. It also exports salt. Present-day Mali was once part of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
