Ismael Lô

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"I am not a traditional musician," says Senegalese troubadour Ismael Lô. Born in 1960, the son of a civil servant, Lô grew up in a household rocking with soul---Wilson Pickett, James Brown and Otis Redding. He loved the deeply rhythmic sabar drumming of the Wolof people as well as the serene textures of the harp-like kora and the balafon, played by the Manding griots. But when he became a musician himself, Lô's instincts drew him to western instruments-guitar and harmonica.

He built his first guitar from a cooking oil can, and learned to play harmonica and guitar together by nailing his harmonica to the wall. In 1979, Lô first performed his intimate, soulful songs on national television, winning widespread praise. He played for five years in Super Diamono, a top mbalax band, but then opted for the freedom and flexibility of a solo career. Lô made a string of successful records with West Africa's premier producer, Ibrahima Sylla, and went on to bring his homespun anthems and ballads to an international audience.

"My themes concern real life in Senegal," says Lô. "I speak of racism, poverty, famine and the relationships among people." Lô sometimes gets overshadowed internationally by the fanfare surrounding Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal, and Toure Kunda -- the group that introduced Senegalese pop to Europe in the early '80s. But back home, Lô, N'Dour, and Maal along with veteran singers Thione Seck and Omar Pene still make up the top tier of the pop echelon. – Banning Eyre, Courtesy Afropop Worldwide: www.afropop.org