The Afropop Hall of Fame Gala Benefit
New York City
October 27, 2005

HONOREES
Afropop Hall of Fame inductees - Youssou N'Dour & the Super Etoile
Special Recognition - The National Endowment for the Humanities
The Afropop Award for Excellence in the Music Industry - Nonesuch Records

"A Night to Remember"

Photos provided by: Dara E. Levine
text by: D. Misha Turner and Sean Barlow

THE RECEPTION

There's no soiree quite like an Afropop Worldwide soiree!  On the evening of Thursday, October
27th, 2005, guests and honorees alike basked in the warm glow and elegant surroundings of Tribeca
Rooftop in Manhattan.

As guests entered the reception, plates of sumptuous fare enticed the eyes and excitement grew as
colleagues and friends circulated in the room. All entranced by the prospect of having audience
with Youssou N'Dour.

Fula Flute members Sylvain Leroux and Bailo Bah

                                                                                                                 Afropop Board member Josh Mailman and Rita

YOUSSOU'S ARRIVAL

With his winning smile and gratious manner, Youssou greeted all and signed autographs for patient fans.

LET THE CEREMONY BEGIN!

After an hour of fellowship and snacking, guests were invitited into the dining area for the
commencement of the awards ceremony by our beautiful and inspirational Mistress of Ceremony, Baraka Sele. 

Ms. Sele currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Programming and Curator/Producer of the NJPAC World Festival at New Jersey Performing Arts Center. And it must be noted that she held court and guided the
evening's festivites with a firm, velvet glove.

A full evening was planned, including the screening of excerpts from Celia Lowenstein's film about Youssou, "Eyes Open," as part of the hour-long, pre-dinner program  The room was filled with good cheer, good will and buzz. Sean Barlow, executive producer of Afropop Worldwide, and our very own host, Georges Collinet, joined in to welcome esteemed guests and honorees.  It's not an Afropop event without a world famous Georges Collinet anecdote, or two!

Induction of Youssou N'Dour & the Super Etolie

"Speaking for Afropop fans all across North America, thanks Youssou and Super Etolie
for all your great music over the years.  Your concerts. Your albums.  You have shown
a face of modern Africa; sophisticated, confidant, and talented.  You have brought
Senegal to the world, embracing in your roots culture--and proud of it!  But you've
had your eyes and ears open to international sounds."

--Sean Barlow presenting the Afropop Hall of Fame award to Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour & The Super Etolie

Youssou N'Dour - lyricist and composer
Alla Seck - backing vocals and vocal animation [deceased, posthumous award]
Mouhamadou "Kabou" Guèye - bass, backing vocals; lyricist and composer
Babacar "Mbaye Dièye" Faye - backing vocals and vocal animation

Assane Thiam - tama (Senegalese piccolo talking drum)
Mamadou "Jimi" Mbaye - lead guitar; lyricist and composer
Papa Oumar Ngom - rhythm guitar, composer
Habib Faye - bass guitar, acoustic guitars, keyboards; composer

Ibrahima Cissé - keyboards
Aboulaye Lô - trap drums
Djanke Djiba - backing vocals
Viviane N'Dour - backing vocals
El-Hadji Omar Faye - sabar
Ousseynou Ndiaye - backing vocals
Seydou Norou "Tierno" Koite - alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones
Issa Cissokho - tenor saxophone

Georges Collinet, Youssou N'Dour, Sean Barlow and Angelique Kidjo

Something Special & Rare

"One of our favorite moments came when Angelique Kidjo sang a powerful a capela song and then
badgered Youssou to come on stage and sing as well.  Youssou sang a soft, beautiful song of his own. That was totally unscripted. Youssou NEVER sings a capela for a function, according to his manager. And I've never seen Angelique do that either. MC Baraka Sele made that happen," remarked Sean Barlow.

Praises Flowed for the Prince of Mbalax

As the applause died down, the sweet melodies of the kora wavered through the room as New York-based Malian grio, Abdoulaye Diabate offered a praise song to our guest of honor.

Performance by Fula Flute

Abdoulaye Diabate - Vocals
Bailo Bah - tambin (Fula flute)
Sylvain Leroux - tambin
Yacouba Sissoko - kora
Famoro Dioubate - balafon
Peter Fand - upright bass

Additional Acknowledgements...

Hall of Fame Induction of
National Endowment for the Humanities
Remarks by the NEH's Michael Shirley, Senior Program Officer for Public Programs

Ned Sublette, Georges Collinet, Michael Shirley, and Sean Barlow

The Afropop Award for Excellence in the Music Industry
Nonesuch Records
Remarks by President Bob Herwitz

PARTING WORDS

Thanks to all of our guests and everyone on the Afropop Hall of Fame benefit committee! We've received such an outpouring of genuine thank you's, expressions of "wonderful," "special," "moving" from guests who attended.

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