Mbalax Music Guide: 5 Notable Mbalax Artists

Mbalax, or mbalakh, is a popular form of dance music in the West African countries of Senegal and the Republic of The Gambia. The music is a fusion of musical traditions from the Serer people—one of the largest ethnic groups in Senegal—and popular music from the West. Musical groups that wanted homegrown dance music forged the mbalax music scene in the 1970s. Bands like Étoile de Dakar, which featured vocalist Youssou N’Dour, folded traditional Senegalese percussion and vocals in Wolof—the common language of Senegal—with a heady mix of jazz, soul, funk, and Latin pop to create the distinctive and danceable African music style.

Though mbalax has not achieved the same level of popularity in world music circles as other African musical styles, the genre remains a favorite throughout West Africa. It continues to expand its propulsive beat through the influence of regional and international sounds like hip-hop and zouk, the carnival music from the French West Indies. Mbalax has generated several superstars, including Youssou, as well as his former sister-in-law, pop singer Viviane, and Malian-French rapper Mokobé.

Here is a brief overview of the evolution of mbalax:

• Post-war origins of the sound. The history of mbalax begins in the years after World War II. Senegal, a French colony, and its capital city of Dakar became a popular destination for music orchestras from all points in West Africa. During this period, the dance music of Senegal was a mix of sounds from Europe and the United States set to Afro-Cuban rhythms. A select group of Senegalese artists began to add elements of African music, like vocals in Wolof and the use of the tama, or talking drum, into their performances.
• The first wave of modern mbalax begins. Audiences met these experiments with a mixed response. However, the persistence of bands like Orchestra Baobab and Super Diamono—whose vocalist Omar Pene was among the first popular artists to sing solely in Wolof—cut a path for a wave of Senegalese musicians in the late 1970s who created the sound of modern mbalax. Chief among these was Youssou N’Dour, who began his career with Super Diamono and later the Étoile de Dakar orchestra before forging a new path with Super Étoile de Dakar.
• Super Étoile de Dakar incorporates Western influences. Youssou and his bandmates, including tama percussionist Assane Thiam, drew on njuup, a percussion-based musical tradition that the Serer people used in religious practices, as the rhythmic bedrock beneath a blend of music from all points on the globe. Their sounds included a mix of American soul, funk, rock, French pop variété, son Cubano, Congolese rumba, and Latin dance forms. Youssou also created expressive dances like the ventilator and xaj bi (the dog) to accompany the heavy groove of mbalax.
• New artists build out the sound. Youssou’s contemporaries soon added to the core mbalax sound: Former Orchestra Baobab member Thione Seck drove dancefloors into frenzies with three percussionists in his new group Raam Daan. Baaba Maal added elements of dancehall and reggae to the mix. Ismael Lô and Lamine Faye increased the guitar and keyboards in mbalax, while Viviane scored regional hits by drawing on R&B from the United States.
• Mbalax hybrids follow. Other artists attempted to create hybrids with rap, zouk, and salsa. A handful of these talents, like Coumba Gawlo and the band Touré Kunda, found fame outside of West Africa. However, few could top the international success of Youssou N’Dour, who collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Neneh Cherry, Paul Simon, and other Western artists.

Several characteristics define the sound of mbalax, including:

1. 1. Influence: Mbalax is a union of US and Latin popular music and njuup, a percussion-based musical tradition that the Serer people of West Africa used in religious practices. Njuup is part of the ancient Ndut initiation rite, which all Serers must undergo to symbolize the transition from childhood to maturity. Part of the ritual requires young boys to create njuup songs to boost their creative and spiritual qualities.
2. 2. Instruments: At the heart of mbalax music is the sabar drum, a West African percussion instrument and musical style in njuup. The sabar, along with the talking drum, xalam (a stringed instrument like a lute), and balafon (a West African form of xylophone), form the rhythmic backbone of mbalax music. Musical acts began incorporating Western instruments such as guitar, keyboards, trumpet, and congas in the 1970s to enhance the pop and dance elements of the music. In recent years, some mbalax groups have replaced the sabar with a drum machine.
3. 3. Songs: One traditional West African element that mbalax has maintained and transformed is the griot. This storyteller collects and preserves West African culture and history, sharing improvised stories and songs with the community. Vocalists like Youssou N’Dour and Thione Seck took the place of the griot in mbalax. They invariably sang in Wolof, French, and English, while certain artists, like Étoile de Dakar vocalist Alla Seck, added a traditional Senegalese form of rapping called tassou.

There are many notable mbalax artists in the four-decade history of the music, including:

1. 1. Alioune Mbaye Nder: Dakar-born vocalist Alioune Mbaye Nder began his career with Lemzo Diamono, an offshoot of the groundbreaking Super Diamono. He left in 1995 to lead his own act, Le Setsima Group, which has issued several albums on cassette between 1995 and 2007. Nder—whose last name is a nod to the n’der drum—has focused his lyrical content on social issues, particularly the role of women and marriage in modern society.
2. 2. Fallou Dieng: Known to fans worldwide as “le roi du ambiance” (“the king of atmosphere”), Dieng is a Senegalese superstar. He employs a style of mbalax called “pur et dur” (pure and strong) to emphasize the classic sound created by Youssou N’Dour and others. His live shows are a spectacle of song and dance during which Dieng sings and raps in Wolof, Serer, and Toucouleur, another of Senegal’s ethnic languages.
3. 3. Thione Seck: A pioneering figure in mbalax, Thione Seck grew up in a Wolof family of griot singers. He began his career with Orchestra Baobab before launching his own group, Raam Daan, in 1974. The group immediately established itself with its size—40 North African, Arab, and Indian musicians, with multiple percussionists and keyboards—and the influence of music from India, Greece, and Spain in its tight grooves. Seck led Raam Daan until he died in 2021.
4. 4. Viviane N’Dour: The former backup singer and sister-in-law of Youssou N’Dour, Viviane N’Dour (née Chidi) established her solo music career in 1999. She quickly earned the label “queen of mbalax” with a series of albums that folded African music into a smooth mix of American R&B and reggae grooves. In 2012, Viviane began working with Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, who produced the Fugees’ breakout album The Score in 1998 and tracks by Justin Bieber, Shakira, and Mary J. Blige.
5. 5. Youssou N’Dour: Arguably the most successful mbalax artist in Senegalese history, Youssou helped create the blueprint for the music’s signature blend of traditional and Western influences. Though perhaps best known to Western audiences for his collaboration with Peter Gabriel on the 1986 single “In Your Eyes,” Youssou has won a Grammy, as well as written an opera and the official anthem of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In 2012, he ran for president of Senegal and later served as Minister of Culture and Tourism for his country. Youssou is also a dedicated activist for human rights.

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