Baaba Maal

One of Senegal's most important musicians, singer-songwriter Baaba Maal works with a rich palette of sounds, mixing West African folk music, pop, hip-hop, and reggae with spiritual and politically charged lyrics. Along with his countryman Youssou N'Dour, he has been instrumental in bringing modern African music to the world stage. His first recordings from the 1980s, with guitarist Mansour Seck, explored traditional Senegalese music, but by the mid '80s Maal had formed the expansive band Dande Lenol ("Voice of the Race"), which incorporated a plethora of world influences, and worked with numerous big names in pop and African music.

• world
• international
• african
• senegalese
• 1990s