When artists schedule a “world tour”; they frequently tour North America, Europe, Australia, some parts of Asia, and sometimes South America. But the earth is made up of seven continents, except for some scientists Antarctica is uninhabited; but there is one continent continually being ignored…Africa!
There are over 50 countries that comprise the continent and is occupied by hundreds of millions of people; some of them very talented musicians who find it as difficult to export music as it is to import musicians for a tour.
Hailing from the African nation of Senegal, Baaba Maal has just released his first album in seven years – “Being”.
A multi-genre album, “Being” features traditional African instruments and futuristic sounding electronic sounds.
Born into a fishing family in the northern Sengal village of Podor, Maal was expected to continue the tradition, but meeting griot – a traveling storyteller and musician – Mansour Seck he began to follow another path.
Maal spoke on his choice to become a musician saying, “I never thought I would stay in one place and doing one thing every day in my life. This is why music is a really good opportunity for me to go away, first, like a young person, like going on an adventure. And it’s a way to liberate me and the people of my generation of this caste system where you have to stay in this place, do the same thing like your father or grandfather.”
Maal also founded the Blues Du Fleuve festival in his hometown which brings musicians, artists, singers, and activists from all over West Africa. He calls it the “Glastonbury of Africa”.
Appearing in Barbican in May – his first trip in 20 years – he said, “music is a celebration and music is a party and when it comes to an African party, it has to be an African party.”
When not making music, Maal is an activist for climate change and refugees. He has been working with various United Nations organizations since 2003 and his own organization, the NANN-K Trust.
That Trust recently constructed a solar-powered irrigation project to which he said, “we are chanting, we are crying, we are saying loud that we need a green Africa and a green Africa to make people to live really a normal life, to face climate change, desertification — all of that.”
Maal’s music can also be heard on the sountrack for the award winning film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” – a film that takes place in the fictional African nation of Wakanda.
Africa has long been isolated from the rest of the world when it comes to music and film; but Baaba Maal hopes for something better saying, “I have a feeling … that something great should be coming from this continent again, and something positive for the world – a door which is open for Africa, not just for Baaba Maal…It’s for the continent.
Feature photo credit: Baaba Maal performing at the Skoll Awards. The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship honour the 2011 Awardees and celebrate all those who are working to create a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.