5 things to know about Youssou Ndour

For over 40 years, Senegalese cultural icon Youssou Ndour has been thrilling audiences around the world with an eclectic mix of Cuban rumba, hip hop, jazz, soul and music of the West African griot tradition. 2018 saw his Proms debut in a special late-night appearance, joined by his group Le Super Étoile de Dakar.

Read on to discover 5 things about Youssou Ndour. His Prom is broadcast on BBC Four, at 23:00 on Friday 7 September.

Ndour pioneered an innovative percussion-based dance music called mbalax, creating crowd-pleasing, topical songs.

Senegalese music is deeply rooted in tradition, which can prove complicated as it doesn't follow conventions. Most of Youssou Ndour's songs stem from some sort of traditional music, but also have influences from Cuba and other countries around the world.

The pillars of mbalax (Senegalese popular music) are percussion instruments, such as the mbung mbung drum, and also the sabar or the tama (talking drum), both of which featured heavily in Ndour's prom. Modern instruments are included but are played in a traditional way, such as the keyboard playing balafon (traditional xylophone) and guitars played using xalam (traditional West African guitar) tuning.

Ndour and his musicians also interplay voices and indigenous vocal techniques such as tassou (a visceral traditional rap) and bakou (the trilling that accompanies Wolof wrestling).

The idea of transposing traditional rhythms to electric instruments continues to provide the dominant strain in Senegalese music to date.

Much of the music from Youssou Ndour is sung for women, using words and phrases traditionally associated with women. By praising his own mother and other notable women he is praising all mothers and all women by implication.

One of Youssou Ndour and Super Étoile de Dakar's most well-known songs is 7 Seconds, a duet with Neneh Cherry which earned seven gold discs and topped the charts in many countries.

This iconic song was performed by Ndour in the 2018 Proms season.

Youssou Ndour has also played a political role, having campaigned for the release of Nelson Mandela, performed at concerts for Live Aid and Amnesty International and served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Ndour even stood as a presidential candidate for Senegal in 2012 - a situation he describes as an "accidental episode" owing to the particular situation in Senegal where the President wanted to alter the consititution and Ndour was able to use his voice and influence to stand against it. Yet whilst politics often influence Ndour's music, music has always come first to him - being a running social commentary addressing various issues of interest to the people.

Youssou Ndour continues to be recognised as one of Africa's greatest voices, helping encourage and inspire African youth to believe in themselves and in Africa's future.

Youssou Ndour is idolised especially by young people due to his charismatic personality and extraordinary voice, and he has risen to become Senegal's number one star, making a notable impact on the world music scene.

At his Prom he created one huge party in the Royal Albert Hall with superb dancers and an audience that did not resist joining in and singing along to the rhythm and spectacle.

Youssou Ndour's Prom is broadcast on BBC Four, at 23:00 on Friday 7 September, and is available to listen to now.

Enjoy all the highlights from this Prom