Lô was born in Dogondoutchi, Niger on 30 August 1956, to a Senegalese father from wolof ethnic group and a Nigerian mother.

Shortly after Lo's birth the family returned to Senegal where they settled in the town of Rufisque, near the capital Dakar.

He would also star in Moussa Sene Absa's film Tableau Ferraille (Iron Landscape), in 1996, and compose more soundtracks.

Lo says of it, "Giving this album the title Sénégal was my way of paying tribute to my own country, in recognition of all its gifts to me".

[2] The film Shake Hands with the Devil (2007), about the Rwandan genocide, starts with Lo's song "Jammu Africa".