A Conversation with Baaba Maal – HuffPost 10.14.11

Mike Ragogna: We’re talking with Baaba Maal who is currently on tour in the United States on a series of speaking engagements based on issues facing Africa. Baaba, how are you?

Baaba Maal: I’m doing very well, Mike. Thank you.

MR: That’s great. Can you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing on your Tales From The Sahel tour?

BM: The tour is about a concept that is very new to a lot of people, even for the younger generations in Africa, but it’s something that I did in the past and I think it’s a great approach for my music, especially when you hear the kind of music and don’t understand the language but want to know more about the background of the music. We talk about life, we talk about the past, the future…we talk about culture. We also talk about the world and our perspective when it comes to the things that are going on in Africa right now. But it all goes with music. I play music in the middle of all of this to bring pigment to what we’re talking about. At the end of the conversation, we give people a way to ask questions if they want to know more about what we’ve talked about. It’s a new concept for music, it’s more storytelling. It’s not just talking about history or the past, but it’s about life in general.

MR: Nice. You’ve donated tracks to various causes, participated on the tribute album to Fela Kuti, and performed in the South African portion of Live Earth. Have you found that people are actually becoming more educated about the causes you’ve been associated with?

BM: Yeah, I think so. It also helps people realize what kind of musician I am. I am, fortunately, from Africa. and in Africa, being a musician is not someone who is just gonna write a few songs, record them, and put them on records. It had to represent something, and when you represent something, you have to make yourself a part of different projects and causes. I think it was very useful for me to participate in all of this just because it helped to clear up people’s points of view about Africa and what happens in Africa and in the hearts and minds of those in Africa. On some level, we speak universally for those Africans who can’t speak for themselves. Participating in projects like those can help people realize that Africa does have a voice. The thing that is missing sometimes is taking these projects and getting younger generations of Africans to take control. I will be touring, of course, to get this message out, but the next step is to bring these elements and ideas back home to Africa as well.

MR: How is this tour going to be set up with Chris Salewicz?

BM: Chris is someone who came to visit and participate in whatever I contrived when I first started putting all of this together. When I was working on my first album, he came to Senegal to focus on what’s behind Baaba Maal–who are the people in my community, what is my culture like, and why I wanted to be a musician, because when you’re first starting out, it’s just a dream that makes you want to be a musician, you don’t think about the business. He was able to see how my dream started. I did several interviews with people–Kwame and Biff Flanningan and John Snow from the BBC–and the purpose was to find people who could help me get out the messages that I wanted to send and not just through my music. But it had to start with someone who knows me, my culture, and my music, and that’s Chris. I think he’s the right person for that.

MR: As I understand it, you’re also the Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Program, and you’ve shared some pretty amazing views on HIV and AIDS in Africa and the growing role of women on the continent. So, this is a life-long mission for you, isn’t it?

BM: Yeah, it’s something that I have been doing for a long time, before I started working even with the UN Development Program. When you come from some part of Africa and begin playing music that doesn’t just come from you, you learn it from your culture and it feeds you like a cultural food, it shapes who you are. And when you get to travel all over the world, when you return to your community, you want to teach them about the world, their responsibility to each other, and your point of view about life and the problems that need to be addressed. When I first started touring, every time I came back from a concert in the West, I was doing a lot of concerts with different organizations and people started learning more about the organizations and getting more information. We would raise money and create opportunities for people. First they’d get the information that we wanted to share, then we’d raise money that we used to participate in school programs, reaching out to young men and women to avoid having to ask the government. We were just trying to bring music and development together.

MR: Do you feel that your trying to raise consciousness about the troubles in Africa stems from the same place that feeds your musical creativity?

BM: Yeah, I think so. When I was starting to write my songs, we knew we had a talent for writing and singing and playing, but at the same time we knew we could use that as an opportunity to participate in a way that can change the picture of a musician. We didn’t want to be the type to just play music for people, but to help build a better life and a better world. It started in our hometown and expanded from there. I think now we are more universal and the focus isn’t just Africa, it’s everything and everyone. It also gives me the opportunity to meet some people who are also trying to do the same thing, like when I met Bono in London and got to speak with him about poverty in Africa and the world. That, I think, was a great opportunity for me.

MR: That’s beautiful, Baaba. So, what advice would you give to new artists?

BM: I would say to new artist that you need to be aware about new technology and use that and your music as a tool to bring people together. That was something that was missing when I first started. I would also suggest that they remember that the beginning of this is music, and the end of this all will be music. All of that business stuff comes after. I worked on a project in the UK called Africa Express where musicians and people in the industry come together for projects and share music and information, but you can’t do all of that without being together with modern technology. I can share things from Africa with someone in India easily through new technology and that can be really useful. That’s something that I think new artists need to learn to take advantage of. Another thing that Africa has shown me is that there are a lot of young musicians who are really open-minded and open-hearted and want to be connected with some great organizations around the world doing really exceptional work. I believe that musicians these days have both the talent and the means to make a big difference. A good education and access to technology will really help people all over the world to start really good conversations and making a difference.

MR: That’s great. And I believe you’re right, now is a better time than any to take advantage of these advances to make a difference. Baaba, it was really great of you to take time out to talk, and I think the difference that you are making is amazing.

BM: Thank you so much, Mike. Goodbye.

Transcribed by Evan Martin