Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Ndongo Lô

Frank Bessem's
Musiques d'Afrique:

Ndongo Lô (1975 - 2005)
(Senegal)

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Ndongo Lo had difficulties entering the music scene. One day, during a concert of Papa Ndiaye Guéwel, he went to the podium and started to sing. He was contacted later to sing one song on Papa Ndiaye Guéwel's next album. At that time, he was poor and ill-dressed, but as soon as he started to sing, everybody was quiet. In 2000, he recorded his first album « Ndoortel », only released in Senegal, as a cassette. The success was immediate, and Ndongo Lo toured in Gambia and did some concerts in Europe. His 2003 album « Tarkhiss » was also released on CD and he became well known in Europe as well as in the United States. In December 2004 he relased a third album « Aduna » (Life). Already very ill, he sang about the way he looked at life and about thanking friends and religious leaders (Ndongo Lo was a follower [talibé] of Mouride leader Serigne Fallou Mbacké). because of that, Ndongo was called Mou Serigne Fallou Niang (Niang of Serigne Fallou). The album was recorded with the band he had created, Le groupe Jamm. The band continues to perform and promised to publish yet unreleased songs written by Ndongo Lo.

On Friday, 14 January 2005, Ndongo Lo performed for the last time. On stage in a night club in Dakar, he felt ill and vomited on stage. He was brought into hospital. On Sunday, he asked his mother-in-law for a soup, his favourite meal. He ate the soup, in company of his wife and his manager, and shortly after that he died in the arms of his wife.

Ndongo Lo has become very popular among the people of Pikine, a poor Dakar suburb because of his free speech and the fact that a young singer of a poor family from a poor neighbourhood can rise from misery and become famous, yet never forgetting his friends and fellow Pikine people. When he died, thousands of people in Pikine came in the streets refusing to believe that the rumour was true. Unfortunately, it was... 200,000 people were present during the funeral ceremony in the holy town of Touba.

Sources used:
Ndongolo Skyblog
Lydia's Musikseite

Born: 15 January 1975 as Ndongo Lo Niang, died 16 January 2005
Style: mbalax

Discography:

Title	Year	Label	Remarks
Mou Serigne Fallou/Jamm: Weet vol.1	2006		CD
Yonente/Serigne Fallou	2005	Origines	CD-single
Aduna/Hommage	2005	Africa Productions 05103-2	CD
Aduna	2004		Cassette production
Tarkhiss	2003	Africa Productions 03073-2	CD
Ndoortel	2001	Studio 2000	Cassette production