Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour

Born: October 1, 1959
in Dakar, Senegal
Youssou N'Dour (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 described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa and in 2023, the same publication ranked him at number 69 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism.

N'Dour helped develop a style of popular Senegalese music known by all Senegambians (including the Wolof) as mbalax, a genre that has sacred origins in the Serer music njuup tradition and ndut initiation ceremonies. He is the subject of the award-winning films Return to Gorée (2007) directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love (2008) directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, which were released around the world.

In 2006, N'Dour was cast as Olaudah Equiano in the film Amazing Grace.

Ethnically, N'Dour is Serer, 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.

Despite N'Dour's maternal connection to the traditional griot caste, he was not raised in that tradition, which he learned instead from his sibling. Although patrilineally from the noble N'Dour family, his parents' world-view encouraged a modern outlook, leaving him open to two cultures and thereby inspiring N'Dour's identity as a modern griot. As a Mouride disciple, taalibé in Wolof, a Muslim of the Mouride brotherhood, one of the large four Sufi orders in Senegambia, he often incorporated aspects of Islamic music and chants into his work.

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.

In 1978, N'Dour would follow as several members of the Star Band left to form Étoile de Dakar, a band that made important contributions to Senegal's newly evolving musical style called mbalax which incorporated traditional Senegalese music into the Latin styles that had dominated Senegalese popular music. Although they quickly became one of the city's most popular bands, the group was short-lived due to internal problems. Étoile de Dakar split into two groups: Étoile 2000 and Super Étoile de Dakar. The latter group included N'Dour, guitarist Jimi Mbaye, bassist Habib Faye, and tama (talking drum) player Assane Thiam. Super Étoile de Dakar produced four albums on cassette in just a few months and eventually evolved into N'Dour's backing band.

By 1991, he had opened his own recording studio, and, by 1995, his own record label, Jololi. ...

Source: Article "Youssou N'Dour" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Youssou N'Dour...

Africa Rising
Title: Africa Rising
Character: Self - Musician (archive footage)
Released: June 3, 2019
Type: Movie
How African artists have spread African culture all over the world, especially music, since the harsh years of decolonization, trying to offer a nicer portrait of this amazing continent, historically known for tragic subjects, such as slavery, famine, war and political chaos.
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Omar Sy, c'est ta chance
Title: Omar Sy, c'est ta chance
Character: Self
Released: November 21, 2018
Type: Movie
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Title: Wanderlust
Character: Himself
Released: September 4, 2016
Type: TV
Polish-Flemish philosopher Alicja Gescinska interviews national and international personalities with diverse philosophical and religious backgrounds.
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Peter Gabriel - Live In Athens 1987
Title: Peter Gabriel - Live In Athens 1987
Character: Self
Released: September 13, 2013
Type: Movie
In October 1987 after many months on the road, it was in the elevated surroundings of the hillside open-air theatre at Lycabettus overlooking Athens that the So tour came to a climactic close. The three nights were filmed in what was the first-ever Peter Gabriel concert to be committed to film.
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8
Title: 8
Character: Himself
Released: October 23, 2008
Type: Movie
8 shorts centered around 8 themes directed by 8 famous film directors involved and sharing their opinion on progress, on the set-backs and the challenges our planet faces today.
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Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
Title: Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
Character: Self
Released: September 6, 2008
Type: Movie
Senegalese pop sensation Youssou Ndour has spent the last 20 years in the spotlight as a world-renowned musician and the iconic representative "voice of Africa." At the height of his career, Youssou became frustrated by the negative perception of his Muslim faith and composed Egypt, a deeply spiritual album dedicated to a more tolerant view of Islam. The album's brave musical message was wholeheartedly embraced by Western audiences but ignited serious religious controversy in his homeland of Senegal. The film chronicles the difficult journey Youssou must undertake to assume his true calling.
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Return to Gorée
Title: Return to Gorée
Character: Self
Released: October 27, 2007
Type: Movie
Because jazz is the miraculous product of the horror of slavery, Youssou N'Dour returned to the slave route and the music they created, in search of new inspiration. Accompanied by the blind Swiss pianist Moncef Genoud and the Director of the Gorée House of Slaves Museum, Joseph N'Diaye, the Senegalese singer wrote new songs during this initiatory voyage which took him to the USA then to Europe. At Gorée, an island just off the Senegalese coast and symbol of the slave trade, his memorable concert marked the end of this quest and the start of a new challenge: making today's generation aware of the tragedy of slavery, the importance of not forgetting and the need for reconciliation.
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Amazing Grace
Title: Amazing Grace
Character: Olaudah Equiano
Released: September 16, 2006
Type: Movie
The true story of William Wilberforce and his courageous quest to end the British slave trade. Along the way, Wilberforce meets intense opposition, but his minister urges him to see the cause through.
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Live 8
Title: Live 8
Character: Self
Released: November 7, 2005
Type: Movie
On 2 July 2005 an estimated 3 billion people came together in the fight against extreme poverty. LIVE 8 - 10 concerts featuring over 1000 musicians from across the globe - asked people not for their money, but for their voice.
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Cirque du Soleil: Midnight Sun
Title: Cirque du Soleil: Midnight Sun
Character: Himself
Released: July 11, 2004
Type: Movie
On July 11 2004, over 200,000 spectators filled the downtown streets of Montreal to take part in a unique celebration, an incredible one-night-only special event! With more than 250 artists, Midnight Sun is a brilliant combination of music and circus - the perfect chemistry of sight and sound. An unforgettable viewing experience filmed in high definition!
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Title: Star Academy
Character: Self
Released: October 20, 2001
Type: TV
Star Academy is a French reality television show produced by the Dutch company Endemol. It consists of a contest of young singers. It spawned an equally successful show in Quebec called Star Académie. It is broadcast on TF1. At the end of each season, selected contestants would go on tour around France, Morocco, Switzerland, Belgium, Tunisia, and other French-speaking countries.
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The Paris Concert for Amnesty International
Title: The Paris Concert for Amnesty International
Character: Self
Released: December 7, 1998
Type: Movie
This production, mounted December 10, 1998, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone underscored with between-songs informational segments that succinctly promote the beneficiary's themes of tolerance and social responsibility. Filmed and live cameos mix celebrities with sage comments from the Dalai Lama (whose impish "thumbs up" to the crowd elevates the entire affair) and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. An underlying fervor also sparks much of the music, particularly from Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman, and a solo Bruce Springsteen, whose songs all allude to the human rights agenda. Alanis Morissette's brief set likewise takes on a spiritual glow consistent with both her second solo album and the context at hand, while jubilant sets from Kassav and the Asian Dub Foundation serve as potent multicultural celebrations.
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Title: Vivement dimanche
Character: Self
Released: September 20, 1998
Type: TV
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Picc Mi
Title: Picc Mi
Released: January 2, 1992
Type: Movie
Follows the story of two young boys and their adventure through the streets of Africa.
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Against Oblivion
Title: Against Oblivion
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1991
Type: Movie
Contre l'Oubli (Against Oblivion) is a compilation of 30 French filmmakers, Alain Resnais and Jean Luc Godard among them, who use film to make a plea on behalf of a political prisoner. Jean Luc Godard and Anne Marie Mieville's film concerns the plight of Thomas Wanggai, West Papuan activist who has since died in prison. The short films were commissioned by Amnesty International.
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Peter Gabriel - POV
Title: Peter Gabriel - POV
Character: Self
Released: July 1, 1991
Type: Movie
An all-Gabriel performance featuring some of Gabriel's own 8mm work, personal footage from the two Amnesty International tours, a trip he took to the USSR and even home movies. Also live performances of "This Is the Picture," "Shock the Monkey," "Games Without Frontiers," "No Self Control," plus more. Executive produced by Martin Scorcese.
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Bruce Springsteen - Human Rights Final - Buenos Aires
Title: Bruce Springsteen - Human Rights Final - Buenos Aires
Character: Self
Released: October 15, 1988
Type: Movie
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Human Rights Now 25th Anniversary
Title: Human Rights Now 25th Anniversary
Character: Self - Musician
Released: October 14, 1988
Type: Movie
Human rights now concert from Argentina, Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires
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Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Title: Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Character: Self
Released: June 11, 1988
Type: Movie
Wembley Stadium hosts a concert featuring stars from the fields of music, comedy and film, in celebration of the 70th birthday of imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela. Highlight of the evening is the one hour live performance of Dire Straits feat. Eric Clapton.
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The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball
Title: The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1987
Type: Movie
When the British Amnesty shows finally resumed in 1987 after a six-year hiatus, the show format was retooled in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of rock musicians supporting Amnesty. Instead of the live show being primarily a comedy show with a few musical cameos, the event made a point of giving equal emphasis to the comedy and the music.
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Title: Victoires de la musique
Character: Self
Released: November 23, 1985
Type: TV
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Title: Champs-Elysées
Character: Self
Released: January 16, 1982
Type: TV
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Mosaïque
Title: Mosaïque
Character: Self
Released: December 26, 1976
Type: Movie
Broadcast from 1977 to 1987 on FR3, every Sunday morning, for 1h30, Mosaïque is a variety show with a set where music groups from the countries of origin of immigration perform, and which broadcasts reports on these countries and on immigrants who live in France. When it was created, it aimed to promote the cultures of origin of immigrants, but also to make them better known to the rest of the population. However, the program was never financed by public television which considers that it was aimed at a specific audience and was therefore not part of a public service mission. It received financial support from the Ministry of Labor, through its subsidy to the National Office for the Cultural Promotion of Immigrants, ONPCI (later becoming Information Culture and Immigration, ICEI, in 1977, then Agency for the Development of Intercultural Relations , ADRI). , in 1982).
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Xala
Title: Xala
Character: Star Band de Dakar
Released: October 1, 1975
Type: Movie
It is the dawn of Senegal's independence from France, but as the citizens celebrate in the streets we soon become aware that only the faces have changed. White money still controls the government. One official, Aboucader Beye, known by the title "El Hadji," takes advantage of some of that money to marry his third wife, to the sorrow and chagrin of his first two wives and the resentment of his nationalist daughter. But he discovers on his wedding night that he has been struck with a "xala," a curse of impotence. El Hadji goes to comic lengths to find the cause and remove the xala, resulting in a scathing satirical ending.
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Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
Title: Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
They have raged on for forty years, cutting a swath across continents and lighting the fuse of revolutionary thought. From the pressure-cooker ghettos of England to the mighty gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, one band has forged an enduring legacy. This is their story.