YOUSSOU N’DOUR IN NAIROBI TO FIGHT HUNGER

Legendary Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour talked about his visit with communities that have been badly affected by the ongoing famine at the Dadaab refuge camp.
"Whenever there is a problem it is the Westerners who are in the foreground, where are the Africans?" Youssou said, speaking after a visit to Kenya's giant Dadaab refugee camps as an ambassador for the UN children's agency.
Youssou and Somali rapper K'naan are planning a series of events across Africa to raise funds and awareness about the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.
"I think Africa should be at the forefront," he added.
Youssou was joined by UNICEF Regional Director for Southern and Eastern Africa Elhadj As Sy, on Tuesday (Sept 6) and spoke about the specific needs of children, the response of the humanitarian community, what more he believes needs to be done to alleviate the current suffering faced by so many, and what the future holds for the millions of children caught up in the combination of drought, rising food prices and insecurity in many parts of the Horn of Africa.

ARTISTES UNITE TO FIGHT HUNGER

Top musicians are working together to fight famine under the umbrella of Africans Act 4 Africa, the artistes, aims to put pressure on their governments to fund relief for the hunger crisis.
Organizers by Afro Fusion act Sara Mitaru, the campaign is supposed to get the personalities involved in the crisis.
Sara has called, texted, Tweeted, and Facebooked her network of fellow musicians in countries as far apart as South Africa and Nigeria, calling for their participation.



Already Kenyan acts Nameless, Juliani, Jaguar and Sauti Sol are on board and are now being joined by P-Square and Asa from Nigeria and Tanzanian poet Maya Wegeris on the line-up. Youssou N’Dour from Senegal has indicated to organizers that he is interested in being involved.
According to various press outlets, Africans Act 4 Africa aims to spread this clear grassroots desire to help across the continent. Participants are discussing the possibility of scripting and scoring a single to be released to raise funds for the drought.

Check out the acts pledging their support

SUZANNA OWIYO TO TOUR WITH YOUSSOU NDOUR

This year seems to be Suzanna Owiyo’s time to really shine. She has bagged a deal where she will go on a European tour with legendary singer Youssou N’Dour in March.
Suzanna told Hot Secrets, “I met Youssou N'Dour in Spain in 2008 during Africa Territories Festival. He must have been impressed by my nyatiti performance. That was where the idea was born. My manager Dudu Sarr was very instrumental in negotiating and arranging the tour. “I'm scheduled to perform with Youssou in a collaboration tour dubbed New African Voices. The tour starts on March 4, 2011 in Copenhagen then head to other cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg, Paris, Brussels, London, Besancon (France) and finally in Oslo.”
An excited Suzanna added, “The feeling is way beyond what I would ever have imagined. I first met Youssou in Uganda in 2006. I curtainraised for him during his East African Celtel Tour, little did I know that one day I would share a stage with him but on another level. Youssou indeed is an African icon; to be more precise, he's the best in Africa.“For the first time in my career, I will be engaging myself in a major tour across Europe and I’m excited, I just cant wait for it to start.”
During the tour, she will launch her third album titled My Roots in Oslo on March 13. The Kisumu 100 singer promises that she will launch it in Nairobi too. She said, “I intend to have a major launch at home in August. I have featured Oliver Mtukudzi, Jua Cali, Makadem and Ogoya Nengo. The album was produced by Kirkelig Kulturverksted record label in Norway.
About her album, she said, "My roots is where my music comes from and for the first time I have introduced a traditional African instrument via the nyatiti. My grandfather was a nyatiti player and this album shows it's my way of following his footsteps.”
Joining Suzanna and Youssou during the tour is Senegalese guitarist and singer Carlou D.

XYZ MEETS YOUSOUR NDOUR, PLAN TO START FRANCHISE IN SENEGAL

Gerald Olewe, Gado, Youssou N'Dour, Lilian Geturo and James Kanja

Kenya's veteran newspaper cartoonist Gado and the brains behind TV show XYZ, blogs about his recent visit to Dakar where he meet with musical great Youssou N'Dour.
Gado writes, "As you know, XYZ is a show about Kenya, produced by Kenyans, for Kenyans. And yet, it manages to get attention from people all over the world. And we are always very happy when our 100% Kenyan show crosses the borders!"
Apparently the award winning singer saw the XYZ show and extended and invite for four of the production team members behind the satirical show.

On the XYZ blog, Gado says, "The purpose of the visit was for our team (XYZ production manager Lilian Geturo, director James Kanja, head puppet maker Gerald Olewe and myself) to conduct a 2-day workshop for TFM TV, a Senegalese television station owned by Youssou N’Dour. Yes, TFM TV is planning to produce an XYZ cousin there!
"Youssou, who also owns a newspaper and radio station in Dakar, is a fan of XYZ and has been following the show’s progress. We had been in touch for a while, looking for ways to collaborate.


"The next step will be for members of TFM TV to come visit our Nairobi studios and be trained by our puppet-making team here. Youssou believes that this kind of pan-African collaboration is the way forward for media projects in Africa, and I certainly hope that this is the beginning of a long and beneficial relation between our two teams and our two countries."