Cheikh Lô

Mbalax, the intricate dance music of Senegal, has been made more accessible to Western listeners by Cheikh Lô (born Cheikh N'Digel Lô). Softening the hard edges of mbalax and incorporating elements of salsa, Zairian/Congolese rhumba, folk, and jazz, Lô has created an infectious, hook-laden style of pop music. While Roots World described Lô's musical approach by writing "complemented by the acoustic guitar, exploding tama, and free-falling electric bass, Lô's voice has a rounded sweetness with poetic hills and valleys," Real Groove Magazine explained, "with its enigmatic comple...