To mark the 50th birthday of Youssou N’Dour, Robin Denselow travels to Senegal to profile the best known African musician of recent times.

Robin examines his journey from child prodigy to Grammy award-winning singer and analyses not just his music but the way he has used it for the benefit of his country and his continent.

He had huge success with the duet 7 Seconds with Neneh Cherry in 1994, but he has been making music for nearly 40 years and has collaborated with many international artists.

First broadcast on click BBC Radio 4 and aired on BBC World Service on 6 November 2009.

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