Youssou N’Dour

To me, Youssou N'Dour is one of those rare figures who refused to choose between art and responsibility. He carried Senegal's mbalax sound to the world and then walked straight into government as a minister, which tells me he saw music and public service as the same act of moving people. The Polar Music Prize and Praemium Imperiale confirm his stature, but what I admire most is that he never traded his roots for global polish. He stayed unmistakably Dakar. That kind of grounded ambition, voice first and always, is exactly the artist I respect.

Name (English)

Youssou N’Dour

Name (Japanese)

ユッスー・ンドゥール

Reading

ゆっすー・んどぅーる

Born

October 1, 1959 (age 66)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Boar

Origin

Dakar, Dakar Department, Senegal

Occupation

politician / singer-songwriter / singer / minister

Awards & achievements

• 2002 Prince Claus Award
• 2013 Polar Music Prize
• 2017 Praemium Imperiale
• 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album
• 2022 La Mar de Músicas

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/youssoundour1959/
• Xhttps://x.com/youssoundoursn
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youssou%20N'Dour
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A6%E3%83%83%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%82%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q210734

Tags

• Dakar Department
• politician
• singer-songwriter
• singer

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.