Ismaël Lô

Ismaël Lô is a Senegalese singer, songwriter and actor, born at Dogondoutchi, Niger, on 30 August 1956 to a Senegalese father and a Nigerien mother; shortly after his birth the family returned to Senegal and settled at Rufisque, near Dakar. ^{1 2} He plays guitar and harmonica, and has been called "the Bob Dylan of Africa". ¹

He grew up in a family where music was not recognised as a professional activity, making guitars and playing them with his cousins; after his father's death in 1970 he spent two years at the Institut des arts in Dakar, where he studied painting, and he began his singing career after being spotted on a television programme. ^{2 1} He joined the popular group Super Diamono, but left in 1984 to start a solo career, recording five popular solo albums over the next four years, in a style closer to folk and soul, with texts that were sometimes political. ^{1 2}

In 1988 he composed the soundtrack of Ousmane Sembène's film Camp de Thiaroye and played in it — the French article specifies that he played the harmonica player, credited as Ismaila Lô — and he later acted in Moussa Sene Absa's Tableau Ferraille (1996) and composed more soundtracks. ^{1 2} In 1990 he signed with Barclay and recorded in France the album Ismael Lo; the success of its single "Tajabone" in the European charts launched his international career, and the song was later featured in Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother (1999). ^{1 2}

His albums include Gor Sayina (1981); Xalat (1984); Natt (1986); Diawar (1988); Ismael Lo (1990); Iso (1994), containing the hit "Dibi Dibi Rek"; the compilation Jammu Africa (1996), with the duet "Without Blame" with Marianne Faithfull; Dabah (2001); and Sénégal (2006), recorded in Dakar, Paris and London. ^{1 2}

The compilation Jammu Africa won Kora Awards in 1996, including best male artist of Africa and best African video for the "Jammu Africa" clip, and in 2002 he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor. ^{2 1} His song "Jammu Africa" opens the film Shake Hands with the Devil (2007), about the Rwandan genocide, and he performed at the Festival Gnaoua in Essaouira on 30 June 2017. ^{1 2}

This section sets out different positions as reported in the sources. It is not a verdict by the museum.

A tribute to his country, and his texts. Of the title of his 2006 album he said: "Giving this album the title Sénégal was my way of paying tribute to my own country, in recognition of all its gifts to me." ¹ The French article notes that his song texts were sometimes political and that his folk-leaning sound was a new departure from the prevailing Senegalese variety of the time. ² No consulted source states a religion or a school for him; religious words in his song titles — "Incha Allah", "Tali Be (Talibe)" — are his repertoire, not an attestation, and his faith is recorded as unknown. ^{1 3}

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