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Baaba Maal | |
|---|---|
 Maal in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1953-06-13)13 June 1953 (age 72) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Baaba Maal (Fula:𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤢 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤, born 13 June 1953) is aSenegalese singer andguitarist born inPodor, on theSenegal River.[1] In addition toacoustic guitar, he also playspercussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July 2003, he was made aUNDP Youth Emissary.[2]
Maal sings primarily inPulaar[3] and promotes the traditions of the Pulaar-speaking people, who live on either side of the Senegal River in the ancient Senegalese kingdom ofFuta Tooro.
Maal was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and become afisherman. However, under the influence of his lifelong friend and familygawlo, blind guitaristMansour Seck, Maal devoted himself to learning music from his mother and his school's headmaster. He went on to study music at the university inDakar before leaving to studymusical notation inParis. During this time, he stayed for three years in the French capital, where he took courses at theConservatoire de Paris, had private tuition and was taken withMozart.[4]
After returning to Senegal, Maal studied traditional music with Mansour Seck and began performing with the bandDaande Lenol. Maal's fusions continued into the next decade with hisFirin' in Fouta (1994) album, which usedragga,salsa andBreton harp music to create a popular sound that launched the careers ofPositive Black Soul, a group of rappers, and also led to the formation ofAfro Celt Sound System. His fusion tendencies continued on 1998'sNomad Soul, which featuredBrian Eno as one of sevenproducers. In addition to his various solo releases, he contributed to two tracks, "Bushes" and "Dunya Salam", on the concept album1 Giant Leap.
In 1998, Maal recorded "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" for theRed Hot Organization's compilation albumRed Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove, a tribute toGeorge Gershwin that raised money for various charities devoted to increasingHIV/AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In 2002, Maal again worked with the Red Hot Organization, recording "No Agreement" alongsideRes,Tony Allen,Ray Lema,Positive Black Soul andArchie Shepp; as well as "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" alongsideTaj Mahal and featuring Kaouding Cissoko andAntibalas, for the tribute album toFela Kuti,Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti.
On 7 July 2007, Maal performed at theLive Earth concert, Johannesburg.
Maal's albumOn the Road, a live acoustic album recorded straight from the mixing boards of his shows over a 10-year period, was released in 2008. A new studio album,Television, was released in 2009.
He appears on two tracks "Hunger" and "Still" on theBlack Hawk Down film soundtrack and performed on the title track of the 2008 video gameFar Cry 2, in addition to helping to create the whole soundtrack for that game.[5] He played at Bonnaroo and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2010.
On 4 May 2013, Maal performed at the 2013 edition of theHarare International Festival of the Arts inZimbabwe.
In 2014, he contributed to the BBC Music's remake ofThe Beach Boys song "God Only Knows".[6]
Maal's 11th studio album,The Traveller, recorded with Johan Hugo fromthe Very Best andWinston Marshall (Mumford & Sons), was released via Palm andMarathon Artists[7] The lead singles, "Fulani Rock" and "Gilli Men", received critical acclaim.[8] in January 2016, and was accompanied by a UK tour and headlining Senegal's Festival Blues Du Fleuve.[9] Maal accompanied Mumford & Sons on their Gentlemen of the Road tour around South Africa in 2015. He also released a song and accompanying live performance music video with Mumford & Sons called "There Will Be Time".[10]
In 1998 Maal was honoured by the Dutch-basedPrince Claus Fund, which rewards people who have a progressive and contemporary approach to the themes of culture and development.[citation needed]
Maal voiced the Wakandan soundtrack ofBlack Panther forLudwig Göransson, helping introduce Göransson to many of the African musicians who contributed to the score.[11] Maal's vocals can be heard on tracks "Wakanda" and "A King's Sunset."[12][13] The two musicians rejoined each other to collaborate on the score for the sequelBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, including Maal doing a brief cameo in thefilm itself as a funeral singer.[14] To celebrate the launch of the film's trailer, Maal and Massamba Diop staged a performance atSan Diego ComicCon.[15] His vocals can be heard on the sole track, "Nyana Wam."
In an interview withThe Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2020, Maal discussed the ritual quality of traditional instruments, and how he chooses instruments to convey his songs' messages: "The spirit of thekora and thengoni are different from thetalking drum and thebalafon, or thesabar and thedjembe. Thekora andngoni are closer to human beings, because they are made from things that had life. The talking drum, thebalafon, and thesabar are made from wood, and when you listen to them your mind goes out into the forest. When you make music and write songs, you have to know about the messages. From the messages, you know what the instruments are and how to put them together underneath the lyrics."[16]
Early in his career, Baab Maal advocated disease prevention and poverty relief in Africa, with his songs often reflecting the social and health challenges of the continent. In July 2003, he was made aUNDP Youth Emissary.[2]
On March 28, 2016, Maal launched Nann-K, a charity focusing on global sustainable development. Maal performed at the launch, which took place onInternational Women’s Day to honor the role of women in business development in Africa. NANN-K's mission is to assist people from Senegal and other African countries in pursuing agricultural careers, including farming, animal husbandry, and fishing. According to their website, "All these are time-old rural pursuits but they have never been organized or brought into the 21st century, let alone combined with the latest digital thinking."[17]
On December 11, 2019, Maal promised to fight thedesertification in the Sahel by planting trees. He said he hoped every person in Senegal could say they planted a tree.[18]
In April 2023, Maal was named a UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)Goodwill Ambassador after a stint serving as UNCCD Land Ambassador alongside fellow Malian musicianInna Modja.
