According to a press release Baaba Maal has released a video for “Yerimayo Celebration” The song is from his new album, Being, which came out on March 31st. The Senegalese artist wanted to honor the fisherman’s way of life his family had had and their connection to the water while acknowledging that he did not follow that path. There are many instances of water motifs throughout the video, starting with a cup of ice and a river. These moments symbolize Maal’s connection to nature as he claims in the description of the video to love the beauty of nature and this song captures that. This song is celebrating nature and his family of fishermen. 

The video starts out with what appears to be a younger version of himself and they are similarly dressed in black and red. The song starts off soft and calm, as it picks up and the lyrics begin, the younger boy starts passionately singing the lyrics. As it continues, the man starts to feel the music and dance to the boy’s song. This reflection of the past is a great representation of the change in direction he took from his family’s history of fishing and how the song itself is looking back on his history. The song itself is full of upbeat melodies with amazing string instruments. The passing of the ice from a young boy to a man, the man then carries that ice around with him till the very end when he dumps it into the river. The first frame and the last frame are the same and the video comes full circle.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat