Baaba Maal

The Creator of Yela Rap

06/11/1998 - 

The release of Baaba Maal's latest album "Nomad Soul" (on Chris Blackwell's new label Palm Pictures) marks an important date in the Senegalese singer's career, coinciding as it does with the 13th anniversary of the creation of Baaba's group, Dande Lenol. Baaba's new album "Nomad Soul" picks up where his last album, "Fouta", left off, continuing in the same musical vein as "Fouta" but taking the lyrics a stage further. As the title of Baaba's new album suggests, the singer has tried to make his music a reflection of the way of life of the Futani - "a nomadic people" explains Baaba, "which perhaps explains where I get my own constant need to keep travelling and discovering the world."

Baaba's new album "Nomad Soul", which was recorded between studios in Dakar, Kingston, London and New York, makes its own nomadic journey around the world. On the song "Souka Nayo", for instance, the Irish band Screaming Orphans blend their voices with Baaba's to create a soft romantic fusion of Ireland and the Sahel. Then Baaba leaves the Emerald Isle and heads off to Jamaica, dueting with the rising young reggae star Luciano, on the track "Yoleta ". Baaba then climbs back onto his magic flying carpet and transports listeners to Istanbul with the song "Lam Lam" (on which the haunting sound of the nay flute conjures up sumptuous images of the famous Blue Mosque).

The thread which weaves throughout the album, binding all these eclectic influences together is the yela - a traditional African rhythm invented by the Halpulaar griots (magician poets). The yela was traditionally beaten out on gourd instruments and accompanied by handclaps, but Baaba Maal has successfully reinvented the yela for the modern age, fusing it with rap and funk beats. Occasionally the sound of a tama (traditional African drum) is introduced in the background, or (as on the track "Iawa") the funky sound of a sax (played here by Tonia Lô). One of the most outstanding tracks on Baaba's new album, however, is the wonderful " Guelel ", (recorded in a very different version to the song released on Baaba Maal's cassette album in Africa). The rap beats and special sound effects on the "Nomad Soul" version of " Guelel " enhance Baaba's soulful voice and add a catchy new feel to his style.

All in all, "Nomad Soul" is a highly accomplished new album brought to us by an artist who remains faithful to his hometown. In fact, Baaba Maal continues to create nearly all his new material in Podor (which, together with Matam, remains one of the Halpulaar strongholds in Senegal).

(MFI) Sylvie Clerfeuille