Youssou N'Dour symbolizes Senegalese popular music. With sold-out shows and in both the U.S. and Europe, he has been a fixture in Senegalese pop since his first album in 1978. He has since helped develop popular music in Senegal, known in Wolof as mbalax, a blend of the country's traditional griot percussion and praise-singing with the Afro-Cuban arrangements and flavors.