Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
To some degree, Baaba Maal's extracurricular activities have been, for the last decade or so, nearly as interesting as his main gig. To be sure, his three previous albums recorded this century—Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) (2001), Television (2009), and 2016's The Traveller—have been excellent examples of genteel pan-global fusion that's both respectful of and unbound by Maal's Senegalese roots. But in addition to his solo studio output, Maal has also been the voice of both Black Panther movies … literally. As the vocalist on the two "Wakandan" songs featured on the score for Black Panther and likewise on the score for its sequel Wakanda Forever, Maal continued the work he first started in 2001 as the singer on two pieces of Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for Black Hawk Down. When he's called upon to provide such bits of vocal authenticity to "African" atmospheres both mythical and otherwise, Maal's approach has consistently been bold, playing to his remarkable vocal strengths, while being removed from the "song-based" limitations of his solo work. Ironically, Maal has been unrestrained when utilized on scores, so it's not all that surprising that, on Being—an album that Maal says he was unsure he would even make, given the economics and creative challenges of the modern industry—he showed up to the studio ready to take some chances. With his voice in remarkable shape, Maal (who recently repatriated back to Senegal from London) has looked at Afrobeat's wave of popularity in recent years and decided not do that at all. Instead, he takes a tangentially aggressive approach to these seven songs, with a production aesthetic that (once again) incorporates pan-global beats and amorphous instrumentation. Guests are few and far between on Being (new vocalist Rougi on one track; London collab The Very Best, featuring Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya on another; Senegalese reggae artist Paco Lenol on a third), focusing the listener on Maal's insistent vocal approach and the daring musicality here. Veering between haunting, spare atmospherics ("Ndungu Ruumi"), swaying funk ("Boboyillo"), gentle acoustics ("Agreement," "Casamance Nights") and full-bodied bangers ("Mbeda Wella," "Yerimayo Celebration"), Maal seemingly abandons genre altogether on Being, opting instead for a truly individual statement of intent. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
More infoYou are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Baaba Maal, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Esau Mwamwaya, Lyricist - The Very Best, FeaturedArtist - Baaba Maal, Composer, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Baaba Maal, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Baaba Maal, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Baaba Maal, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - rougi, Lyricist, FeaturedArtist - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Baaba Maal, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer - Paco Lenol, Lyricist, FeaturedArtist
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Baaba Maal, Lyricist, MainArtist - Universal Music Publishing, MusicPublisher - Johan Hugo, Composer, Producer - Johan Hugo Karldberg, Composer
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Album review
To some degree, Baaba Maal's extracurricular activities have been, for the last decade or so, nearly as interesting as his main gig. To be sure, his three previous albums recorded this century—Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) (2001), Television (2009), and 2016's The Traveller—have been excellent examples of genteel pan-global fusion that's both respectful of and unbound by Maal's Senegalese roots. But in addition to his solo studio output, Maal has also been the voice of both Black Panther movies … literally. As the vocalist on the two "Wakandan" songs featured on the score for Black Panther and likewise on the score for its sequel Wakanda Forever, Maal continued the work he first started in 2001 as the singer on two pieces of Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for Black Hawk Down. When he's called upon to provide such bits of vocal authenticity to "African" atmospheres both mythical and otherwise, Maal's approach has consistently been bold, playing to his remarkable vocal strengths, while being removed from the "song-based" limitations of his solo work. Ironically, Maal has been unrestrained when utilized on scores, so it's not all that surprising that, on Being—an album that Maal says he was unsure he would even make, given the economics and creative challenges of the modern industry—he showed up to the studio ready to take some chances. With his voice in remarkable shape, Maal (who recently repatriated back to Senegal from London) has looked at Afrobeat's wave of popularity in recent years and decided not do that at all. Instead, he takes a tangentially aggressive approach to these seven songs, with a production aesthetic that (once again) incorporates pan-global beats and amorphous instrumentation. Guests are few and far between on Being (new vocalist Rougi on one track; London collab The Very Best, featuring Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya on another; Senegalese reggae artist Paco Lenol on a third), focusing the listener on Maal's insistent vocal approach and the daring musicality here. Veering between haunting, spare atmospherics ("Ndungu Ruumi"), swaying funk ("Boboyillo"), gentle acoustics ("Agreement," "Casamance Nights") and full-bodied bangers ("Mbeda Wella," "Yerimayo Celebration"), Maal seemingly abandons genre altogether on Being, opting instead for a truly individual statement of intent. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 7 track(s)
- Total length: 00:37:17
- Main artists: Baaba Maal
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Marathon Artists
- Genre: World
2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists 2022 Atelier Live Ltd under exclusive license to Marathon Artists
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.