Youssou N'Dour

“Senegal needs to free itself, to rediscover its democracy.”

“Africa is the future.”

“I think people should know more of Africa in terms of its joie de vivre, its feeling for life. In spite of the images that one knows about Africa - the economic poverty, the corruption - there's a joy to living and a happiness in community, living together, in community life, which may be missing here in America.”

“Senegal needs a renaissance.”

“When I'm in Senegal, I can't just sit in isolation making music. People need my help. And the Senegalese people helped create my music. It comes from the country itself.”

“Listen, a lot of religions have fundamentalists.”

“I have studied at the school of the world.”

“Music in Africa often contains messages. Music in Senegal, and Africa, is never music for music's sake or solely for entertainment. It's always a vehicle for social connections, discussions and ideas.”

“I want to use my music to deliver a political message and sometimes to denounce, but I don't want to be a politician.”

“My father used to tell me about how musicians don't have respect from people and he was afraid about my future.”

“If you come from Africa with your economic poverty and your cultural riches, and you meet someone like Peter Gabriel or a person from a big record company, and they tell you that what you are doing is marvelous, that makes you feel powerful.”

“I really want to bring the message of love that is Islam to people; bring something new to that familiar face.”

“Islam is a peaceful religion.”

“My music is like a spinning ball. It can turn in one direction, and then it comes back to origins.”

“I love meeting interesting people and doing things with them.”

“I look at my people, and I look at those who control them - the political elite. And the sad thing is that the elites are just not interested in the welfare of the people.”

“I don't really see myself as an actor.”

“I'm a modern Muslim. I pray, and if I have a question, I ask someone who is more educated in the religion than me.”

“I think that Sufism fits all over the world. The concept is not anything that fits standard Western ideas - it's always related to culture, to music, to religion. It is a dominant religion in Senegal.”

“Politics is politics; art is art. If you play a political role, you have to stop being an artist.”