Sym Sam is an artist who wants to be a link between Benin, his country of origin, and Senegal, his adopted country. “Fii laa Yaro”, his new album, is a song of gratitude for the country that saw him grow up.By Amadou MBODJI –
Sym Sam is a Beninese artist who grew up in Senegal. It is in recognition of his adopted country that the artist released a new album with titles in the Wolof language. Fii Laa Yaro, meaning “this is where I grew up”, is the title of this new production which constitutes the second album to the Beninese artist’s credits. “I grew up here and I couldn’t be ungrateful and not do anything that speaks to Senegal. This is why I chose what you see,” said Sym Sam, on the sidelines of the listening session for this album held last Wednesday at the French Institute in Dakar. “The previous project, there was Manding, there was English and a little Wolof. This time, frankly, the choice was to reach out more to the country where I am, Senegal. And it’s in a way in gratitude to Senegal, because Senegal gave me everything I have today. Fii Laa Yaro talks about a boy who has a life here,” says Sym Sam. Playing urban galsen, with a gospel touch, Sym Sam had a close relationship with Music. He informs that his father was a singer, he followed in his footsteps by singing in Church, before providing the choir for certain artists. Lulled from his early childhood to the sounds of Senegalese musicians like Youssou Ndour, Omar Péne, Viviane Ndour and Coumba Gawlo, distilled on the radio in the courtyard of the house he shared with neighbors, Sym Sam ended up mastering their songs, making it easier more his intrusion into the world of music. Drummer, Sym Sam also says that love is the theme of his new album. “In all the songs, if you go in depth, it only talks about the love and the relationships that were made here in Senegal,” he declines. In this new album, we find, for example, Mane ak yaw, Yobalema featuring with Dafa. Ken Dou Yaw featuring with Xlira, Dina la weuyeul featuring with Diaw Diop, Boul Xaadi, Dieguema featuring with Admow flow and Fi ma Dieum. He plans, he says, to do live shows, playbacks, and tour TV sets to better promote his album. He plans to perform on stages across the country, including at the French Institute.
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