Cheikh N'Digel Lô (born 12 September 1955) is a

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

ese musician.

Early life

He was born to Senegalese parents in

Bobo Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (r ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

, and began playing drums and singing at an early age.

Career

In 1976, he joined Orchestre Volta Jazz, a Bobo variety band that played

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

and Congolese pop songs, as well as traditional Burkinabé music. Lô moved to

in 1978, performing in several

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 principa ...

outfits. By then, the Zairean sound was in full flower, Camerounian makossa was coming on strong, and reggae had entered the mix, and Lô absorbed all of these various musical genres. In 1985, he was playing guitar with numerous

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

and French musicians, which led him to record material in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, in 1987. After his band dissolved, Lô remained in Paris as a session musician, developing his own sound, described as a mix of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

influences. He spent most of his time in recording studios developing his talent. His casual contacts with Zaire's most successful progressive singer,

Papa Wemba Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of the ...

, were especially memorable. "I was a drummer. So when there was a group who came and didn't have a drummer, I would practice with them.

's drummer was also a businessman, so if he wasn't there, I would help out. He's from the school of Tabu Ley, and when I was young, I listened to Tabu Ley a lot." In 1995,

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 describe ...

offered to produce Lô's debut album, ''Ne La Thiass'', which became a global success. In 2000, Lô sang alongside

Ibrahim Ferrer Ibrahim Ferrer (February 20, 1927 – August 6, 2005) was a Cuban singer who played with Los Bocucos for nearly forty years. He also performed with Conjunto Sorpresa, Chepín y su Orquesta Oriental and Mario Patterson. After his retirement in ...

on "Choco's Guajira", from Cuban pianist Rubén González's album ''

Chanchullo "Chanchullo" (; literally: "scam", "racket", "hustle") is a danzón-mambo composed by Cuban bassist Israel "Cachao" López. It was first released as a single in 1957 by Arcaño y sus Maravillas. It was the third single released on Cuban independe ...

''.Fordham, John (2000). Sleeve notes from ''Chanchullo'' – Rubén González, World Circuit Records WCD 060, 2000. In 2002, he appeared on two tracks of the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's tribute album to Fela Kuti, ''

Red Hot and Riot ''Red Hot + Riot'' (a.k.a. ''Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti'') is the fourteenth in a series of music compilation projects produced by Paul Heck and John Carlin of the Red Hot Organization and Grammy-winning music producer ...

''. He collaborated with

Les Nubians Les Nubians is a French musical duo, composed of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart from Paris, France. In 1985, the sisters moved with their parents to Chad. Seven years later, they returned to Bordeaux, France, and began singing a cappella, p ...

and Manu Dibango on one of the tracks, "Shakara / Lady (Part Two)."

Personal life

Lô is a member of the

Baye Fall Baye Djiby Fall (born 20 April 1985), often referred to simply as Djiby, is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward. Fall last played for Hobro IK in the 2018–19 Danish Superliga. Fall has previously played professional f ...

, a movement within the

Mouride The Mouride brotherhood ( wo, yoonu murit, ar, الطريقة المريدية ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' ( Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in ...

Sufi order of Islam. As such, he has

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

, which is part of the order's customs. The reggae influence in his music, along with his dreadlocks, often leads to the misinterpretation that he is

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

Discography

;Albums *''Ne La Thiass'' (1995) *'' Bambay Gueej'' (1999) *''Lamp Fall'' (2005) *''Jamm'' (2010) *''Balbalou'' (2015) ;With Rubén González *''

'' (2000) ;Contributing artist *''

The Rough Guide to the Music of Senegal ''The Rough Guide to the Music of Senegal'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 2013. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the release presents an overview of the music of Senegal on Disc One, and contains a ...

'' (2013,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...

) ;With King'N'Doom *''King'N'Doom feat. Cheikh Lô'' (2019) *''King'N'Doom Live'' (2022)

References

External links

Biography at Cora Connection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lo, Cheikh World Circuit (record label) artists 20th-century Senegalese male singers People from Bobo-Dioulasso 1955 births Living people 21st-century Senegalese male singers