Cheikh Lô

[1] He was born to Senegalese parents in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and began playing drums and singing at an early age.

[1] In 1976, he joined Orchestre Volta Jazz,[1] a Bobo variety band that played Cuban and Congolese pop songs, as well as traditional Burkinabé music.

[1] 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.

After his band dissolved, Lô remained in Paris as a session musician, developing his own sound, described as a mix of mbalax, reggae and soukous influences.

"[citation needed] In 1995, Youssou N'Dour offered to produce Lô's debut album, Ne La Thiass, which became a global success.