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“African music is at the start of a new era. We have to open ourselves to the currents flowing elsewhere, without losing our ancestry.” Baaba Maal

If anyone personifies the new Africa, with its need to balance the demands of modernism and tradition, it’s elegant Senegalese singer, Baaba Maal. An imperious figure with an intellectual and spiritual cast that contradicts his wild stage dancing, Maal’s status across West Africa is somewhere between Dylan and Marley; simultaneously folk hero, pop star and social conscience.

The vision extends beyond music. Rooted in a desire for African empowerment, enlightenment and unity, Maal embodies a widespread ongoing endeavour for global peace....

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“African music is at the start of a new era. We have to open ourselves to the currents flowing elsewhere, without losing our ancestry.” Baaba Maal

If anyone personifies the new Africa, with its need to balance the demands of modernism and tradition, it’s elegant Senegalese singer, Baaba Maal. An imperious figure with an intellectual and spiritual cast that contradicts his wild stage dancing, Maal’s status across West Africa is somewhere between Dylan and Marley; simultaneously folk hero, pop star and social conscience.

The vision extends beyond music. Rooted in a desire for African empowerment, enlightenment and unity, Maal embodies a widespread ongoing endeavour for global peace.

“The only rival to Youssou N’Dour as West Africa’s biggest international star, his charismatic presence and noble bearing make it difficult to take your eyes off him on stage. He was singing his heart out and sending chills down the spine with his soaring mix of Islamic-tinged inflections and African soul. The crowd remained motionless on its feet, apparently hypnotised by the spell-like power of his voice.” The Times

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