Oct 9/04
See the sabar, shake that ass
You see that girl? The one shaking her ass for the tamar player beside the logo up top? She’s dancing a mad sabar. If there was a soundtrack for that cartoon it would be mbalax. If mbalax has a king, it’s Youssou N’Dour.
Yeah, yeah. I know – 7 seconds with Neneh Cherry is a very annoying song. Worse still are Youssou’s forays into incomprehensibly cheesy Casio-based music over the last few years. But I promise that he really rocked in the early 80s.
I like mbalax music in small doses or when I’m wasted on a Dakar Friday night at 4am. But Senegalese popular music was best in my opinion around 1983 when Cuban rhythm roots were still present and the synthesizer hadn’t yet arrived in the port containers. Listen below and tell me that Youssou wasn’t better in the old days.
If you can find this song on CD I’ll be damned. But straight from Touba K7 in Dakar, here’s a hard to find Youssou 80s hit that’ll get those asses a shakin.
Youssou N’Dour – Massamba Thioul Anta
Tags: mbalax, sabar, senegal
[...] e not in the Senegalese know, mbalax is the music in Senegal. Popularized by the likes of Youssou Ndour, Thione Seck, Omar Pene and more, it has become the unoff [...]
Well i would like to respond to one the comment posted at the top of the page. When the editor says ” SHAKE THAT ASS ” well it is not respectful. I know he is not From Senegal, Probably from Gambia !!! So next time be more courteous refering to Senegalese most honored personalities like Youssou Ndour, Omar Pene, Thione Seck. if know you find anything wrong about what you said, just try to translate it in Wolof. Thanks
Well Astou, do you know for a fact that he/she is from The Gambia and how sure are you that he/she isnt from Senegal. It’s okay to take issues with the editor but get your facts right before pointing fingers.
Are you crazy, how is that offensive. One of the best things about Mbalax is women shaking their ass. I’m from Senegal so I should know
Now in terms of Youssou. . . His new stuff is terrible. I can guarantee most people haven’t heard songs like N’danane, Thioul Anta, Oulymata, Yarou (the old one), or Jamm la Paix.