Time and again Western journalists ask superstar Senegalese pop singer Youssou N'Dour, arguably the most successful African musician in history, the same question: Why, despite selling hundreds of thousands of records in the West and collaborating with artists such as Peter Gabriel, Sting, Wyclef Jean and Paul Simon, do you continue to live in Africa?
For an African artist, N'Dour has enjoyed unequaled international popularity over the last two decades, thanks to an inimitable tenor singing voice that flutters effortlessly across five octaves and a signature musical style that combines Afro-Caribbean sounds with the driving syncopated rhythms of traditional Senegalese drumming. Given all this, many journalists seem to have difficulty comprehending why he hasn't begun a new life in the lap of luxury in the West.
But N'Dour speaks with great humility of a comfortable life with his family in Senegal, his many charitable activities, and the fact that the capital, Dakar, where he lives, has an international airport that allows him to travel whenever and wherever he wants.