When I'm in Senegal, I can't just sit in isolation making music. People need my help. And the Senegalese people helped create my music. It comes from the country itself.
Youssou N'DourMy music is like a spinning ball. It can turn in one direction, and then it comes back to origins.
Youssou N'DourI want to use my music to deliver a political message and sometimes to denounce, but I don't want to be a politician.
Youssou N'DourMy father used to tell me about how musicians don't have respect from people and he was afraid about my future.
Youssou N'DourI think people should know more of Africa in terms of its joie de vivre, its feeling for life. In spite of the images that one knows about Africa - the economic poverty, the corruption - there's a joy to living and a happiness in community, living together, in community life, which may be missing here in America.
Youssou N'Dour