Cheikh N'Digel Lô (born 12 September 1955) is a

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese musician.

Early life

He was born to Senegalese parents in

Bobo Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso ( , ) is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 1,129,000 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo- Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking pop ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, and began playing drums and singing at an early age.

Career

In 1976, he joined Orchestre Volta Jazz, a Bobo variety band that played Cuban and Congolese pop songs, as well as traditional Burkinabé music. Lô moved to

in 1978, performing in several

mbalax Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the urban dance music of Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia. The musical style is rooted in the indigenous instrumental and vocal styles accompanied by polyrhythmic sabar drumming of the Wolof, a social identity that incl ...

outfits. By then, the Zairean sound was in full flower, Camerounian makossa was coming on strong, and reggae had entered the mix, and Lô absorbed all of these various musical genres. In 1985, he was playing guitar with numerous

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

and French musicians, which led him to record material in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, in 1987. After his band dissolved, Lô remained in Paris as a session musician, developing his own sound, described as a mix of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in ...

influences. He spent most of his time in recording studios developing his talent. His casual contacts with Zaire's most successful progressive singer,

Papa Wemba Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of ...

, were especially memorable. "I was a drummer. So when there was a group who came and didn't have a drummer, I would practice with them.

's drummer was also a businessman, so if he wasn't there, I would help out. He's from the school of

Tabu Ley Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a Congolese rumba singer and musician. He was the leader of ''Orchestre Afrisa International'', as well as one of Africa's most influe ...

, and when I was young, I listened to

a lot." In 1995,

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

offered to produce Lô's debut album, ''Ne La Thiass'', which became a global success. In 2000, Lô sang alongside

Ibrahim Ferrer Ibrahim Ferrer (20 February 1927 – 6 August 2005) was a Cuban singer who played with the group Los Bocucos for nearly forty years. He also performed with Conjunto Sorpresa, Chepín y su Orquesta Oriental, and Mario Patterson. After his re ...

on "Choco's Guajira", from Cuban pianist Rubén González's album '' Chanchullo''.Fordham, John (2000). Sleeve notes from ''Chanchullo'' – Rubén González, World Circuit Records WCD 060, 2000. In 2002, he appeared on two tracks of the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

's tribute album to

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

, ''

Red Hot and Riot ''Red Hot + Riot'' (a.k.a. ''Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti'') is the fourteenth in a series of music compilation projects produced by Paul Heck and John Carlin of the Red Hot Organization and Grammy-winning music producer ...

''. He collaborated with

Les Nubians Les Nubians is a French musical duo, composed of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart from Paris, France. In 1985, the sisters moved with their parents to Chad. Seven years later, they returned to Bordeaux, France, and began singing a cappella, p ...

and

Manu Dibango Emmanuel N'Djoké "Manu" Dibango (12 December 1933 – 24 March 2020) was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father w ...

on one of the tracks, "Shakara / Lady (Part Two)."

Personal life

Lô is a member of the Baye Fall, a movement within the

Mouride The Mouride brotherhood (, ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' (Sufism, Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, which is a holy city for t ...

Sufi order of Islam. As such, he has

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a Hairstyle, hairstyle made of rope-like strands of matted hair. Dreadlocks can form naturally in Hair#Texture, very curly hair, or they can be created with techniques like twisting, Backcombing, ba ...

, which is part of the order's customs. The reggae influence in his music, along with his dreadlocks, often leads to the misinterpretation that he is

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

Discography

;Albums *''Ne La Thiass'' (1995) *''

Bambay Gueej ''Bambay Gueej'' is an album by the Senegalese musician Cheikh Lô. It was released toward the end of 1999, with an international release in 2000. Lô supported the album with a European tour. Production Produced by Nick Gold and Youssou N'Dour, t ...

'' (1999) *''Lamp Fall'' (2005) *''Jamm'' (2010) *''Balbalou'' (2015) ;With Rubén González *'' Chanchullo'' (2000) ;Contributing artist *'' The Rough Guide to the Music of Senegal'' (2013,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competi ...

) ;With King'N'Doom *''King'N'Doom feat. Cheikh Lô'' (2019) *''King'N'Doom Live'' (2022)

References

External links

Biography at Cora Connection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lo, Cheikh World Circuit (record label) artists 20th-century Senegalese male singers People from Bobo-Dioulasso 1955 births Living people 21st-century Senegalese male singers