Idrissa Diop: An Afro-Latin Anthem

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In Idrissa Diop's "Bamba," an infectious chorus hits over joyous horns and a grinding rhythm that seems light while never letting up.

Courtesy of the artist

In Idrissa Diop's "Bamba," an infectious chorus hits over joyous horns and a grinding rhythm that seems light while never letting up.

Idrissa Diop began his career in Dakar, where he was active between the late '60s and mid-'70s before departing to France, like many African musicians before him. During that time, he served as a crucial link to the time when Cuban records began making their way to Senegal after WWII. A dozen recordings from between 1968 and 1975 form a recent collection called Diamonoye Tiopité — issued by Teranga Beat, a new African-music reissue label.

Some of the material — in particular a couple cuts from 1975 in the album's second half — is previously unreleased, though it's likely that most Americans are still hearing Diop for the first time. But "Bamba," the title track from a 1975 album by the Diop-led SAHEL, was immensely popular: Diop says in Diamonoye Tiopité's liner notes, "I couldn't get out of my house. Everybody was singing, 'Touba Touba!' I was going out with my bodyguards."

It's not hard to hear why. That chorus of "Touba Touba Touba Touba" hits over joyous horns and a grinding, clipping rhythm that seems light while never letting up. It was a fusion — the grace of older Latin music giving some lift to the swift-punching, younger-sounding mbalax — that today sounds seamless.