Fireside Chat

Baaba Maal

Palm Pictures, Senegal

Baaba Maal was born in Podor on the Senegal river in 1953. Expected to become a fisherman like his father, he instead chose to devote himself to music under the guidance of his mother, his school’s headmaster and his life-long friend Mansour Seck. He went on to study music at the university in Dakar before leaving for postgraduate studies on a scholarship at Beaux-Arts in Paris. With the possible exception of Youssou N’Dour, he is probably the most internationally recognised Senegalese artist. Baaba sings primarily in Pulaar and is the foremost promoter of the traditions of the Pulaar-speaking peoples who live on either side of the Senegal River in the ancient Senegalese kingdom of Futa Tooro. Musically he has always been very open to the fusion of local and international styles and genres and often radically shifts his ‘sound’ from album to album. We caught up with this legend and ambassador for West African music after his surprise performance at Broad Casting in London with Tony Allen and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. In this very special Fireside Chat, Baaba talks us through some of the highlights of his career right up to his most recent album...