Senegal's golden-throated pop colossus Youssou N'Dour wowed his first audience when he was just twelve, and went on to conquer much of the world with his blend of traditional sabar and tama drumming, Latin dance music, rock and r&b. Though N'Dour's mother came from a griot family, his father opposed his son's musical career. But once the Senegalese heard N'Dour's majestic voice, life in the civil service was out of the question. In 1979, "Dakar's Little Prince" formed the Super Etoiles, and became the most popular singer of Senegal's mbalax pop. N'Dour soon won the ear of Peter Gabriel, who eventually invited him to join Amnesty International's "Human Rights Now" world tour in 1988. N'Dour still works with many of his original musicians, including talking drum master Assane Thiam, Babacar Faye on sabar drums, and bassist, keyboard player and arranger Habib Faye. Softening the jagged sabar rhythms to create savvy, contemporary pop, N'Dour sings in five languages to reach the widest possible audience. Some of N'Dour's older fans find his new sound too western, but he doesn't mind. "I am a modern man," says N'Dour. "I love traditional things, but I think African music must be popular. We have to go forward." Intent on bringing his countrymen along, N'Dour recently built a state-of-the-art recording studio called Xippi or "Eyes Open" for musicians in Dakar. Early Xippi releases include work by singer Manel Diop, and also N'Dour's sister, Abibatou N'Dour. In 1994, N'Dour's collaboration with American/British hip-hop singer Neneh Cherry-the song "7 Seconds"-sold over 1.5 million copies and won MTV Europe's Best Song award.

In 1999, N'Dour released a long awaited international follow-up to 1994's Wommat: The Guide. Joko reworks some of the songs that have been hits for N'Dour in Senegal during the intervening years. It also includes collaborations with international stars, including Peter Gabriel. The American version of Joko, released in 2000, differs from the European version. As such, N'Dour presents a somewhat complex profile on the international market. By contrast, his Senegalese releases deliver the simple power of his unsurpassed band, Super Etoiles, live in the studio.

Le Grand Bal a Bercy, a 2001 release of a live show recorded the previous year in Paris, gives the Western listener a chance to experience the more high-energy side of N'Dour and his Super Etoile band usually reserved for his African audience. 2002's Nothing's In Vain continued the presently fashionable trend of big West African pop stars releasing rootsier albums, perhaps feeling that the time is finally ripe to open Western ears to the more traditional sounds of instruments like kora, balafon, xalam, and the riti one-string violin. Yet at the same time, Nothing's In Vain retains N'Dour's trademark pop sensibility--complete with hooks, slow builds, and catchy melodies--while delving into the full range of a voice that is remarkably supple in both high and low ends.

The summer of 2004 saw N'Dour rededicate himself to the pursuit of uncharted regions of collaboration with the release of Egypt. In contrast to N'Dour's past implementation of Western pop concepts to his music, Egypt tackles a popular music repertory that is geographically, religiously, and culturally much closer to home. With orchestration and arrangement by Egyptian musical don and self-proclaimed "renegade" Fathy Salama, this master collaboration breathes new life into the melodic forms of both men's countries. Although some of his Senegalese listeners have objected to N'Dour's explicit popularizing of religious music, this intensely personal and spiritual exploration is a stirring tribute to the power and beauty of Islamic music.