MBALAX (Senegal)

Baba Maal

The West of Africa was one of the key points of departure for the Slaves from Africa taken to work in the Americas from as early as the 1400s. With them went African cultural practices that gave rise to diasporic genres like Jazz and Rap in the 20th century. The present day Senegal forms this enclave from where they departed Goree Island in particular docked the ships that transported them. Today there is a museum located here and behind they left the foundation for one of the most globally recognized musical forms to emanate from Africa Mbalax. Its first superstar was Youssou N’dour (born 1959) and his bands Etoile Dakar and its predecessor Star Band de Dakar. Other notables have been Baba Maal, Ismael Lo, Kine Lam and Orchestra Baobab (2003 BBC Radio 3 World Music Award winners).

A fusion of Cuban, Spanish and Congolese rumba with lyrics in the Wolof language, Mbalax sprouted in the 1970s as a distinct sound structured on the oral history telling tradition of the griots. The griots have been the indigenous source of entertainment since the pre-colonial. As markers of Oral social history their genealogy is often extended to include Afro American rappers in America. In this concoction were Arabic/Islamic influences (today over 90% of Senegalese are Muslims) similar to those in the East African Taraab music. Senegal was part of the Mali, Jolof and Ghana empires that were visited with Islam through the ancient trans-Saharan trade.

Mbalax turned out as a hypnotic rhythmic style modeled on the traditional djabadong rhythm from rural Senegal. In African music the rhythm is close to the dance and in many cases leans on to specific instruments. Featuring a dense vocal and guitar presence laid over drums, it forms a woven sonic myriad within socially conscious lyrics .Its proponents have structured it into a futuristic mosaic whose audio and visual performance marvels any audience that experiences it. Instruments used in this art form are mainly percussive with polyrhythmic embellishments. Producers who have driven this music include N’dour and his contemporary Papa Dieng.N’dour maintains an ultra modern recording studio in Dakar.

Primarily the ‘Tamas’ a talking drum held and played under the player’s armpits features. It is supported by the ‘Sabars’, large bass drums that form the background to the music and finally the hand played ‘Djembe drums’ made up of a layer of goatskin.

In some instances a ‘modern drum kit’ (complete with snares), ‘Kora’s’ (a local instrument), ‘Conga’s’, ‘Balaforns’ (wooden), ‘timbales’ and ‘horns’ grace its performance. On stage, appropriate lighting and costumes (wrappers or agbada) may be used with a dance ventilateur choreographed to it.

Call and response punctuate the performance. The language used is predominantly Wolof, which is the largest ethnic group in Senegal.

However not all of the artists come from this group. Baba Maal for instance is Fulani whereas Toure Kunda are Sonike.To gain wide currency the singers use Wolof.The Dakar scene has a blossoming night life that has also supported this genre as a popular art form. Miami nightclub in the 70s was crucial as is N’dour’s Thiosane and Kilimanjaro.

Historical beyond its label as a Slave port Senegal witnessed the first settlement of the French at St Lois in 1695. This became the headquarters of an ambitious assimilation endeavor from Paris making incursions into the West African hinterland. Bearing in mind the French emphasis on cultural development the musics had to be taken seriously.

Senegal was also a Mecca of Afro centric philosophy in the 50’s, 60s and 70s through the activities of independence leader Leopold Sedar Senghor. Recently president Abdoulaye Wade’s involvement in NEPAD [New Partnership For Africa Development] places Senegal at the center of African issues. Amidst post-colonial disillusionment in Africa, cultural revival was one of the avenues of hope to over dependent new nations.

Senghor’s negritude stance advocated for the indigenous in culture. This supported the growth of the local industry and maintained the ‘support of our own policy’. The political and economic stability that followed also facilitated the growth of the music. Magnanimity has always guided Senegal’s politics.

Interestingly Mbalax is dominant but not all that Senegal has to offer. Other genres like Afro reggae (with artists like Toure Kunda) and Tassou (Sene French rap with artists like Positive Black Soul and the France based MC Solaar).

The growing Mbalax scene saw interest from record labels with a desire to market these musicians who were slowly making an entry into the world music fray. Mango, Stern, Celluloid (France) and Columbia were some of the labels that signed Mbalax artists usually for foreign distribution. This support from companies with financial muscles to boost careers of these artists was effective. N’dour has become a global name.

Youssou Ndour

Mbalax has also benefited from collaborations with the globe. N’dour’s 1998 world cup theme song with Axel Red (from Belgium) was a career smash as was his initial work with Paul Simon in 1986 on the Afro rhythmic Graceland CD, his 1994 collaboration with Neneh Cherry ‘seven seconds’ sold 2 million copies world wide and got a Grammy award nomination in the world music section. N’dour also worked with a select cast of Africa’s shining musical stars Papa Wemba, Jabu Khanyile, Lagbaja and Lourdes Van Dunem on the Red Cross/Crescent Project ‘Woza Africa’ (So why Africa) generated more global interest in N’dour and his henchmen.

Baba Maal’s collaboration with Culture (born Joseph Hill from Jamaica) are incidents spurning the evolution of a globally recognized genre Mbalax. Mbalax is resiliently part of what has become regarded as World Music as its artists from part of the core of this category.