Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love (2008)

Directed by: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | 102 minutes | music, documentary | Starring: Youssou N’Dour, Peter Gabriel, Moustapha Mbaye, Kabou Gueye, Fathi Salama

It is wry that the “tolerance for the Islamic faith” that Youssou N’Dour tries to promote with his album “Egypt” seems to have mainly taken place abroad, but not with his brothers and sisters in his own country. After all, his album was widely embraced abroad, while in his motherland Senegal the (Islamic) population themselves initially did not like his musical odes to his religious ancestors. But maybe it’s a bit more complicated. As an inspiring singer, N’Dour is a celebrity in his own country and throughout Africa, while the lyrics he performs on “Egypt” have a content that is undoubtedly appreciated by the majority of the Muslim population. Then why the resistance? And what exactly is the reason that he had enormous success abroad with this religiously tinged album? Is the explanation simply that music crosses borders? This sort of intriguing evokes Elizabeth Chai Vasarhely’s documentary and while not all issues are satisfactorily explored, N’Dour’s message of hope and the power of his voice, spirit, and music are enough to make ‘Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love’ to make a warm documentary about experiencing and propagating the Islamic faith and the binding power of music in a positive way.

In the first few minutes of Vasarhely’s documentary, N’Dour delivers an inspiring speech to many Africans – almost a sermon – about the need for fraternization, positive thinking and honoring the strong ancestors of today’s Africans. The African spectators who watch breathlessly and who cheer wildly after the speech are clearly impressed by this moral inspiration. They are goosebumps moments, also for the viewer.

After this, Youssou N’Dour is presented to the viewer with information about his childhood, his wishes and successes. It is interesting to find out where this man comes from in a literal and figurative sense. His grandmother, for example, was also a so-called “griot”, a singer/preacher who transfers African history to fellow human beings and new generation(s) in a narrative way. Especially the big, inspiring names should not be forgotten.

Although he has always remained true to his roots, N’Dour has grown into a true pop artist. Many people will know him mainly from that one hit with Neneh Cherry, “7 Seconds”, and for them this documentary is a reasonable eye-opener. N’Dour is big and knows how to touch many with his passionate performance, which is understandable for anyone who has listened to the almost hypnotic voice of the man for a few minutes. Youssou N’Dour breathes and lives music. Besides that, he also lives for his religion and that’s why he got the somewhat controversial idea of ​​combining these values.

In the Muslim faith, however, it is “not done” to cast religiously oriented texts into musical form. But what exactly is the problem, if it’s all done respectfully? This has of course been happening for a long time in the Christian faith, and N’Dour also states that imams also essentially sing their sermons. So according to him it is a misconception that music and (Islamic) religion (cannot) have anything to do with each other. Yet there is resistance. People are not used to it. Pop songs about Islam, that’s not possible, is it? Then a song by N’Dour is played on the radio in which he sings “Allah, Allah”, and then a song about g-spots is played: that context or that merging is indigestible, someone explains in the documentary .

According to N’Dour and the collaborators on the album, it’s just fear and ignorance. It becomes especially clear that nothing is as important, as ‘Babel’ tried to show in different ways, as communication and really listening to each other. When the Senegalese learned that Youssou N’dour, a pop singer, was shooting video clips for the album Egypt, they immediately assumed that it would feature half-naked women. Before people knew what it was all about, and what everything would look like, wild conclusions were drawn. A bit like with Wilders’ film ‘Fitna’.

What is interesting is that “Egypt” was very successful abroad. But why? Are the Muslims more flexible there? Or did people mainly listen to the music and was the content less important? After all, in the audience of the concerts in Brussels, Milan, and New York, there are also many white, non-Muslim audiences, who all love the music. It’s a shame the documentary doesn’t do a little more research in this area. Both the reception at home and abroad could have been treated in more depth. But a somewhat broader picture could also have been given of N’Dour himself. After an initially interesting, but short biographical sketch, it still comes down to the frustration associated with N’Dour’s mission to find acceptance for his mixture of music and faith. Journalist Robert Christgau briefly explains the success of the album “Egypt” by saying that it makes clear how varied Islam and Sufism are. It is this thought that should serve as a guideline. Coupled with the idea that music is food for the soul and can bind people and convey any kind of content, that is the main thing that takes the viewer away after seeing ‘Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love’. And that it pays to be open to new things, and new ways. That is the road to hope and positive change.