Youssou N’Dour Drops “Rokku Mi Rokka” In November
Youssou N’Dour, Africa’s Music Ambassador to the world is in the spot light once again, not for a concert but this time around the release of a new album. Yeah!
According to his record label Warner Music Sweden, N’Dour’s album titled “Rokku Mi Rokka” (Give And Take) will be available on the Music shelves by November 1st.
The Senegalese star, who made his feature-film acting debut in the 2006 historical drama “Amazing Grace,” reunites with the Swedish-born R&B singer on “Wake Up (It’s Africa Calling),” the lead single from his forthcoming album, “Rokku Mi Rokka” (Nonesuch/Warner).
The music and inspiration on this album are from the north, from the desert, from parts of the country that border on Mali and Mauritania. People from those countries will know and understand this music as well as people who come from the centre of Senegal,” N’Dour says.
“Some people might think Senegalese music means mbalax, which is Wolof, the most important language in the country, everybody speaks it. But all my life I have been saying that this is not the only music we have in Senegal, we have a wide range of sounds and rhythms. When it came to writing the songs for this album, I wanted to use different sounds.
“Sometimes you will hear a little blues on the album, a little reggae, a bit of Cuba. In Africa, we get excited when we hear these rhythms, because we feel them, they are ours, but they left Africa with the slaves a long time ago. Rokku Mi Rokka means ‘You give me something, I give you something’ and that’s the message of the album: we have received a lot from the developed world, but remember that we brought a lot, too.”
N’Dour is renowned for his vocal range and songwriting abilities. He and his band, The Super Etoile, have toured the world for 20 years, picking up elements of the world’s musical traditions along the way. At the base of his sound is mbalax, Senegal’s traditional griot percussion and praise-singing music, filtered through Afro-Cuban, pop and rock sensibilities.
Visit Youssou N’Dour’s Website
