RhoDeo 1450 Roots

Hello, well having a morning coffee on the go isn't what it used to be-in Sydney at least a nut case who somehow was left to go about his nutcase business has been stopped by a bunch of police officers, 2 innocent victims payed with their lives from the gross incompetence of Sydney police who had a bad reputation before hand, the gung ho assholes really enjoyed some live target shooting practice...

Some of the most exciting sounds to come out of Africa in the late '80s and 90's were produced by Senegal-born vocalist Youssou N'Dour. Although rooted in the traditional music of his homeland, N'Dour consistently sought new means of expression. In addition to recording as a soloist, N'Dour collaborated with a lengthy list of influential artists....  N'Joy.

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Some of the most exciting sounds to come out of Africa in the late '80s and 1990s were produced by Senegal-born vocalist Youssou N'Dour. Although rooted in the traditional music of his homeland, N'Dour consistently sought new means of expression. In addition to recording as a soloist, N'Dour collaborated with a lengthy list of influential artists including Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Neneh Cherry, and Branford Marsalis.

A native of the impoverished Media section of Dakar, N'Dour does not have a school certificate. He was born in a working-class suburb of Dakar, the eldest child of a car mechanic, and began by hustling pirated CDs in car parks. "It's true that I haven't pursued higher education," he admitted, adding: "I have proved my competence, commitment, rigour and efficiency time and time again. I have studied at the school of the world." Despite his father's wish that he pursue law or medicine, N'Dour started singing at circumcision ceremonies before his voice had broken and was professional by the age of 13. With a voice that seemed heaven-sent, he sang in small clubs in Dakar in Wolof, the language of his griot (praise-singing) ancestors, and was rapidly crowned "Le petit prince de Dakar".

N'Dour inherited his musical skills from his mother, a griot (oral historian) who taught him to sing as a child. A seasoned performer before his teens, N'Dour joined the popular group the Star Band de Dakar at the age of 19. Within two years, he had assumed leadership of the group, which he renamed Super E'toile de Dakar. With the band accompanying his four- or five-octave vocals, N'Dour helped to pioneer mbalax, an uptempo blend of African, Caribbean, and pop rhythms. Performing for the first time in Europe in 1984, N'Dour and Super E'toile de Dakar made their North American debut the following year.

N'Dour's talents soon attracted the support of top-rated musicians. In 1986, his vocals were featured on Paul Simon's Graceland and Peter Gabriel's So. He subsequently toured around the world as opening act for Gabriel. His greatest exposure came when he agreed to be a co-headliner, along with Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Tracy Chapman, on the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour in 1988. The same year, he performed at the much-publicized birthday concert for South African activist (and president) Nelson Mandela at Wembley Stadium in London.

N'Dour cemented his reputation in 1989, when he released his first internationally distributed album, The Lion, which included a tune, "Shaking the Tree," that he co-wrote with Gabriel. Upon signing with Spike Lee's Columbia-distributed 40 Acres & a Mule label, N'Dour scored a Grammy nomination in 1991 with his first effort for the label, Eyes Open. He continued to seek new outlets for his creativity, including an African opera that premiered at the Paris Opera in July 1993. Recorded in Senegal, N'Dour's album The Guide, released in 1994, included his hit duet with Swedish-born vocalist Neneh Cherry, "Seven Seconds."

A steady stream of greatest-hits packages, reissues, singles, and even a few full-length records -- including a handful on Nonesuch, 2002's Nothing's in Vain, 2004's Egypt, and 2007's Rokku Mi Rokka -- poured out during the late '90s and into the next century, featuring N'Dour working with artists from Etoile de Dakar to Gabriel. Egypt, which went on to win a Grammy, caused quite a cultural and political stir when it was released during the month of Ramadan. A documentary DVD centered around the whole affair, Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love, appeared early in 2010 and included a biography of N'Dour's career as well as extensive concert footage and film of N'Dour working on the Egypt project.

N'Dours political ambitions have thuisfar been twarted after his application for the 2012 presidential election was deemed insuddicient or signed by to little legal supporters. Sadly like so many failed african state it's current president refuses to leave the "gravy train" office and maneged to block the popular singer-this time, yet had to give way to current president Macky Sall in a direct face off second election..

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Set is N’Dour’s first great solo album for one simple reason: He figured how to integrate synthesizers into mbalax. Typically they hover melodically in the higher registers here, fluctuating tonally between flute and calliope. On “Sabar” he sings in unison with them, on “Medina,” a keyboard bed allows playful saxophone to spring into an upward tumble, and on the title anthem, choppy synths mow though the beat from underneath. Not that the synths carry Set on their own. Ornate horns, frenetic tabas and booming trap drums muscle their way into the mix, while “Xale” makes room for an elegant string quartet. Compact song structures — “Fenene” is the only cut to break the five-minute mark — add to the tumultuous density of the arrangements. But if Étoile de Dakar was an ensemble of competing equals, Super Étoile is a backup band whose disciplined members contribute inspired moments to an overall pattern. The few English lyrics here, such as the exhortation to “try to be strong” on “Miyoko,” might arouse concerns about what uplifting vagueness N’Dour preaches about elsewhere in Wolof; righteous songs like “Toxiques,” which calls upon poor nations to refuse the toxic waste the first world foists upon them, put those fears to rest. The title tune became the anthem of Senegalese youth in 1990.

Youssou N'Dour - Set  (flac  303mb)

01 Set (Clean) 2:45
02 Alboury 4:15
03 Sabar 2:32
04 Toxiques 3:28
05 Sinebar 4:45
06 Medina 3:22
07 Miyoko 3:42
08 Xale (Our Young People) 4:17
09 Fenene (Another Place) 5:17
10 Fakastalu (Watch Your Step) 3:52
11 Hey You! 3:38
12 One Day (Jaam) 3:26
13 Ay Chono La (Love Is) 3:12

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Youssou N'Dour's Egypt is a radical change of pace for the Senegalese singer/songwriter. Throughout his career, N'Dour has adapted his indigenous musical heritage to the pop sounds of world music. On Egypt, N'Dour and his quartet have created rhythmic and melodic arrangements for material from the Arabic world. Joining N'Dour's quartet for this recording is the renowned Fathy Salama Orchestra, a 14-piece traditional music ensemble. The material is traditional Sufi music, and N'Dour has applied, via the score's director, Hassan Khaleel, Senegalese rhythms and folk melodies to exist in concert with the time-honored originals. The effect is nothing less than startling. N'Dour goes deep into the heart of Senegalese Sufism, tracing the lines where terrains, spiritual practices, and of course musical ideas meet, meld, and change. Unlike his previous recordings, the organic and sacred character of this music seems to stand outside of time and space; it wails and warbles, croons and groans. It is the music of joy and reverence and, as it bridges the various aspects of Islamic cultural traditions, one hopes it can create, via the sheer beauty of its sound and the translation of its lyrics, a portrait of a world that is far different from the one portrayed by Western media constructs.Youssou N'Dour won the 2005 Grammy award for Egypt, an album of Sufi Islamic devotional chants recorded with Egypt's 14-strong Fathy Salama Orchestra.

Youssou N'Dour - Egypt  (flac  245mb)

01 Allah 6:10
02 Shukran Bamba 5:30
03 Mahdiyu Laye 4:58
04 Tijaniyya 5:45
05 Baay Niasse 5:18
06 Bamba The Poet 3:51
07 Cheikh Ibra Fall 3:35
08 Touba - Daru Salaam 5:50

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Like his last two releases for Nonesuch, 2002's Nothing's in Vain and 2004's stunning Egypt, Youssou N'Dour's Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take) is a glistening, polished work that perpetuates the singer's recurring role as one of Africa's greatest gifts to music. Where Egypt was something of a side trip for N'Dour, a tribute to his Sufi faith, Rokku Mi Rokka takes on more of a mainstream melodic pop sheen, with an eye toward the northern desert country for inspiration. N'Dour, in addition to using his regular musicians, reunites here with members of his early-career Super Etoile de Dakar band as well as other players with whom he's been comfortable for years (gotta love Ali Farka Touré sideman Bassekou Kouyate on the four-stringed n'goni), so the results are familiar and the groove locked in tight. Neneh Cherry, who performed a duet with N'Dour on 1994's hit "7 Seconds," returns for a rap on the album-closing mbalax-funk anthem "Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)," which implores the Western world to stop taking Africa for granted and look to the continent for positive vibrations. The opening track, "4-4-44," is a celebration of 44 years of Senegal's independence, bathed in driving, repetitive keyboard riffs, a persistent rhythmic punch, and a midsong horn blast that provides a sudden Memphis-esque R&B kick. As always, much of N'Dour's songwriting addresses tradition and its role in an Africa struggling toward modernization. There are songs of love and songs of politics and spirit. "Tukki" is little more than a simple paean to the joys of traveling, and "Xel" exhorts humans to do the obvious: use their brains and think. But then there's "Sportif," with its drum lick right out of a New Orleans second-line march, whose sole purpose is to remind countrymen that there's no need to take it personally if a favorite wrestler loses a match -- it's only a sport. Go figure. Nonetheless, Youssou N'Dour is never less than thoughtful and intriguing, and his voice is never less than gripping. Rokku Mi Rokka is another gem from an artist who has come to define the African music renaissance.

Youssou N'Dour - Rokku Mi Rokka (Give And Take)  (flac  496mb)

01 4-4-44 3:38
02 Pullo Ãrdo 4:00
03 Sama Gàmmu 3:58
04 Bàjjan 4:06
05 Baay Faal 4:47
06 Sportif 3:26
07 Tukki 4:10
08 Létt Ma 4:42
09 Dabbaax 5:11
10 Xel 4:52
11 Wake Up (It's Africa Calling) 3:57
Bonus
12 Boul Bayékou 6:08
13 Beugue Dou Bagne 6:19
14 Borom Gaal 3:02
15 Téléphone 4:32
16 Yonou Deuge 5:00

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