Youssou N’Dour 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 is Serer who was born to a Serer father and a Toucouleur mother. However, culturally, N’Dour is Wolof. He was born in Dakar. He started performing at age 12 and would later perform regularly with the Star Band, Dakar’s most popular group during the 1970s.
At the age of 15, Youssou N’Dour joined Super Diamono and, in 1975, toured with the band in West Africa. In 1976 when N’Dour was 16 years old, he signed a contract to sing with Ibra Kasse’s Star Band at Kasse’s Miami club in Dakar where he would become a sensation.
Is Youssou N Dour a griot?
Yes, Youssou N’Dour is a griot. He was born in 1959 in Dakar, Senegal. His mother had roots within the griot culture and taught young N’Dour the musical skills of that tradition. A griot is a storyteller, poet, and musician who perpetuates the oral tradition and history of a village or family.
Source: Ghanafuo.com
