Naby, one of the three finalists in the running for RFI’s “Découvertes” Award 2009, presents himself as “a child of Senegal.” Born in Dakar to a Guinean father and a Malian mother, Naby grew up listening to a rich musical mix, his formative influences ranging from Tracy Chapman to his compatriot Omar Pène. Naby declares that for him music is not simply a passion, but a vocation and one to which he is committed heart and soul. All eyes will be focused on his performance in the “Découvertes” final to be held in the Togolese capital, Lomé, on 25 November.
Calling Naby a live wire would be a complete understatement. And the Senegalese singer does not confine his electrically-charged antics to the stage, either, leaping up mid-interview to strum his guitar, chat to a member of his backing band and play with a passing child. What’s more, Naby performs all of his actions flashing his famous broad-toothed grin that has lit up audiences wherever he plays.
Naby sounds like a stage name but it is, in fact, the name that was officially registered at his birth in Dakar on 8 March 1976. Naby Ibrahima Condé was born in Dakar but grew up in Mbour, a popular seaside resort some 80 kilometres from the Senegalese capital. His Guinean-born father was a school teacher and his Malian-born mother a head mistress. Of the couple’s three sons and three daughters only Naby went on to choose a music career.
Naby grew up in what he describes as a musical and cultural “melting pot”, sneaking into his brothers’ bedroom from an early age to listen to their record collection. The budding musician, described by his teachers as “a cheeky boy who loved to tease”, would sit there, knees tucked up on the bed, belting out his favourite Tracy Chapman songs without understanding a word of the American singer’s lyrics.
Naby went on to discover the sound of Senegal, soaking up the music of Super Diamono, Youssou N’dour and Thione Seck. “I was born into sabar*” he says, “born into mbalax.” The vibrant salsa rhythms of the legendary Orchestra Baobab also punctuated his childhood. “I listened to a real mix of stuff,” Naby explains, a mix that has inevitably woven its way into his own eclectic fusion of folk, reggae, soul and R&B today. Naby claims that his first audience was his mother, admitting that “I first cottoned on to the power of music when was a kid. I’d get round my mother after I’d been really naughty by singing “Maman, prépare moi du poulet roté, un roux roti”… .”
Naby Dem Naa (Demrex) 2008
Marie-Laure Josselin
Translation : Julie Street
Read the whole article www.rfimusique.com
TOURNEE RFI “AFRIQUE 2010″
12 au 17 janvier – Repetitions a Dakar
17-01-10 Avion DAKAR – NIAMEY
19-01-10 NIAMEY – Centre culturel franco-nigerien
20-01-10 NIAMEY – MARADI par route
21-01-10 MARADI – Alliance francaise
22-01-10 MARADI – ZINDER par route
23-01-10 ZINDER – Centre culturel franco-nigerien
24-01-10 ZINDER – NIAMEY par route
25-01-10 Relache
26-01-10 NIAMEY – OUAGADOUGOU par route
27-01-10 OUAGADOUGOU – Centre culturel francais
28-01-10 Relache
29-01-10 OUAGADOUGOU – ACCRA par avion
30-01-10 ACCRA – Alliance francaise
31-01-10 ACCRA – KUMASI par avion
01-02-10 KUMASI – Alliance francaise
02-02-10 KUMASI – ACCRA par avion
03-02-10 ACCRA – DAKAR par avion
04-02-10 Relache
05-02-10 DAKAR – PRAIA (Cap-Vert) par avion
06-02-10 PRAIA – Centre culturel francais
07-02-10 Relache
08-02-10 PRAIA – MINDELO par avion
09-02-10 MINDELO – Centre culturel francais
10-02-10 MINDELO – PRAIA par avion
11-02-10 PRAIA – DAKAR par avion
12-02-10 Relache
13-02-10 DAKAR – Institut francais Leopold Sedar Senghor
14-02-10 DAKAR – BISSAU par avion
15-02-10 Relache
16-02-10 BISSAU – Centre culturel francais
17-02-10 BISSAU – DAKAR par avion
18-02-10 Relache
19-02-10 Relache
20-02-10 Relache
21-02-10 DAKAR – LIBREVILLE par avion
22-02-10 Relache
23-02-10 LIBREVILLE – Centre culturel francais
24-02-10 LIBREVILLE – BRAZZA
25-02-10 BRAZZA – POINTE NOIRE par avion / POINTE NOIRE – Centre culturel francais
26-02-10 POINTE NOIRE – BRAZZA par avion
27-02-10 BRAZZAVILLE – Centre culturel francais
28-02-10 Relache
01-03-10 BRAZZA – DOUALA par avion
02-03-10 DOUALA – YAOUNDE par route
03-03-10 YAOUNDE – Centre culturel francais
04-03-10 YAOUNDE – DOUALA par route
05-03-10 Relache
06-03-10 DOUALA – Centre culturel francais
07-03-10 DOUALA – ADDIS ABEBA – NDJAMENA par avion
08-03-10 Relache
09-03-10 Relache
10-03-10 NDJAMENA – Centre culturel francais
11-03-10 Relache
12-03-10 NDJAMENA – ADDIS ABEBA – DAKAR
13-03-10 Relache
14-03-10 DAKAR – NOUAKCHOTT par avion
15-03-10 Relache
16-03-10 NOUAKCHOTT – Centre culturel francais
17-03-10 NOUAKCHOTT – BAMAKO par avion
18-03-10 BAMAKO – Centre culturel francais
19-03-10 BAMAKO – DAKAR – SAINT LOUIS par avion et route
20-03-10 SAINT LOUIS – Centre culturel francais
21-03-10 SAINT LOUIS – DAKAR par route
22-03-10 BACK HOME !!
Sandy Haessner, born in 1977, studied graphic design at ecosign-academy in Cologne. 2001 journey to Dakar for field research for the realisation of a promotion concept for the senegalese percussion group Mama Africa followed by a photo exhibition at Passagen in Cologne. 2002 longer stay in Senegal for practical work and experience in a publicity agency Publicom and collaborations with different local musicians and artists. 2004 photo exhibitions »Modern Griots - Rapper in Dakar« in Düsseldorf and »Mama Africa - The Village« in Bad Honnef (Germany). 2005 - 2006 moving exhibitions »WORDVISION« in Senegal (5th Edition of Hip Hop Awards, Galerie MAAM TIOUTH, Goethe-Institut Dakar). Since 2005 living and working as a graphic designer/ photographer in Dakar/Senegal. 
