Rokku Mi Rokka

Rokku Mi Rokka

• YOUSSOU N'DOUR ROKKY MI ROKKA

On 2007's Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take), Youssou N'Dour's fourth Nonesuch album, the Dakar-based singer delves further into the traditional music of his native Senegal, a journey he began with the 2002 disc Nothing's In Vain and dramatically expanded with Egypt, an openhearted exploration of his Islamic faith that won a 2004 Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album. N'Dour, who sings expressively in the Senegalese language of Wolof, has been renowned throughout his three-decade career for popularizing the mbalax sound, a mix of traditional elements with Afro-Cuban rhythm, to which he adds, as Peter Gabriel has put it, 'a voice of liquid gold.' This year Time placed Youssou in the magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world, the TIME 100. Nonesuch.