Word: dakar
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...When Kane sings his tune "Goree," he switches from traditional Senegalese rock n' roll, called mbalax, to Deep South blues, replete with throaty intonations in the style of B.B. King. Goree is an island off the coast of Dakar where slaves were kept before being shipped off to the New World. Nowadays it survives as a popular tourist attraction, particularly for African-Americans looking to retrace their heritage. A contrarian by nature, Kane makes the point that the blues originated in west Africa before crossing the Middle Passage to America...
...Growing up in a working-class section of Senegal's capital Dakar, Kane listened to European music on the radio and fell in love with the Nigerian Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti, whose own music reflected a melee of African and Western styles. As is common in his home country, Kane had trouble finding work. Many young Senegalese dream of making a living abroad, some of whom brave a treacherous journey in the open seas on rickety boats to get to Europe...
Senegal's capital was unusually subdued for a Saturday night in late February. In Dakar's popular Sicap Baobab district, the normally packed Toucan restaurant was empty and quiet, save for the voice of local pop star Cheikh Lô coming from speakers above the bar. In 1996 Lô hit international fame with Né La Thiass (Gone in a Flash), which warned about sudden changes of destiny. With Senegal emerging from a tumultuous election, the most keenly contested in its history, that lyric is timely again, echoing sentiment about the country's tippy democratic traditions and life under...
...judges - was widely seen as a power struggle between two ambitious politicians. But it also hinted at a generation shift in Senegalese society, repeated throughout much of Africa, where an increasingly restive youth are demanding representation and rights that older, less politicized generations never expected. Jacques Habib Sy, a Dakar-based political analyst, says, "The level of political consciousness among young people is growing. You have a new citizenry who know it's important to go to the poll and express themselves with their ballot cards...
...victory speech, Wade vowed to target rising levels of corruption - especially that of his adversaries - raising the specter of further political conflict. He also pledged that the majority of Senegalese would have jobs within two years, but failed to outline how he'd achieve that tall task. Back in Dakar, taxi driver Saliou Diouf, 27, pondered an uncertain future: "Next time will be different - until then many things can happen. Né la thiass...