Simon Sène, sometimes spelled "Simon Sene" without the French accent mark, is one of the most well-known and renowned Seereer and Senegambian artists of his generation. Sène is an avid promoter of Seereer culture. He is so vocal about the promotion and preservation of Seereer culture that he is sometimes colloquially referred to as "the Ambassador of Seereer culture" by certain members of Senegal's political elite, Senegambian music critics, and the Seereer artistic community at large. He is one of the most well-known composers, vocalists, and riti masters of his generation since the days of his idol, the legendary Mbissane Diange. Although not from a griot caste, who historical were the singers and artisans, Sène made a name for himself in Senegambian music partly influenced by his mother who was a singer, and is one of the great artists of his generation who has toured throughout the Senegambia region and the west, notably, France.   

Sène, who has roots in Niakhar, has been singing since 1978–when he was merely thirteen years old, having finished his elementary schooling after his CM2 exams (French: cours moyen 2). Inspired by the great riti master and singer Mbissane Diage, Sène took up the riti (the one-stringed fiddle musical instrument), singing, composition, and dancing at an early age. It was in the village of Ndoss in Niakhar (Fatick) where Sène first started his musical career at a tender age. Realising that he would need to relocate to the big cities of Senegal, he made the decision to relocate to Kaolack. In Kaolack, Sène took up various jobs including working as a driver's apprentice in order to supplement his income, whilst at the same time trying to develop his musical career. 

Like a typical Seereer youth, Sène devoted his spare time to one of his passions–the njom (Seereer wrestling), and In 1980, resumed his singing ambitions by singing in weddings and naming ceremonies–which was the route for many Senegambian artists at the time.  It was during these ceremonies were artists perfected their craft, their stage presence, and performance. Sène would continue to perform in these types of events until 1992 when he was spotted by Radio Senegal's prolific journalist Moussa Bopp from the Kaolack branch of the station.  That chance meeting with the radio personality would give him his big music break, and in 1993, recorded his first track Nkakaru–which was a great success, and received good airtime on radio stations throughout the Senegambia region.  

During his long music career, Sène got the opportunity to work with some great musicians including the great master drummer and educator Oumar Thiam of Kaolack; his idol–the riti master Mbissane Diange; the legendary Diva Yandé Codou Sène whom Sène used to refer to as "mother" and his "confidant"; and the Toucouleur artist Baaba Maal–one of Senegal's great musical exports.

Having performed traditional music for years, it was in 1995 when Sène integrated modern music to his repertoire as an attempt to reach a much wider market. Although Kaolack has always had a rich music culture, Sène  realised that to make a bigger impact on his career he needed to move to the capital Dakar, and in 1996, made the bold move to leave Kaolack for Dakar–the mecca of Senegalese music. 

In 1997, Sène joined the National Orchestra of Senegal, and recorded his first album Magal (in cassette format), with the main track titled Manga 2–dedicated to the Seereer wrestling icon Manga 2 (Manga Deux), the former king of the wrestling arena. 

In 2001, Sène, along with Talla Diange and the Ndef Leng Association co-produced his second album Jamm Casamance, which was a call for peace and stability in Casamance following years of political conflict in that region. Ndef Leng is one of the oldest Seereer associations in the Senegambia region, with several chapters in Senegal, Gambia, and beyond. 

 

Sène's third album (Yaye), released in 2006 was another great success.  After Yaye's success, Sène released another great album in 2012 titled d'Identité. This thirteen-track album invited the various ethnic groups of Senegal to citizenship and the preservation of their cultural identities. In that vein, Sène took the opportunity to promote his own Seereer cultural identity on a national scale. It was on that album where Sène got the opportunity to work with one of his idols Baaba Maal, and  on one of the tracks, paid homage to the legendary Seereer Diva Yandé Codou Sène who had passed away about two years earlier. d'Identité was released around Senegal's 2012 Presidential Elections, an Election in which Sène's friend Macky Sall (then a presidential candidate, now President) was a standing candidate. 

 

During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Seereer artistic community played a major role by utilising their craft in order to sensitize the public to follow government and scientific advice and regulations thereby minimising the spread of the virus. In that regard, Sène released his track Sayo Corona in 2020.

Sène's last solo album as of 2022 is titled Njang ka Sereer (or Ndianka Sérère) - released in 2015. The album pays homage to the great Seereer men and women who had contributed immensely towards the economic, cultural, social, and intellectual development of not just the Seereer community, but also, Senegal. As many artists can appreciate, Sène's long absence from releasing an album is mainly due to the cost involved in producing and releasing an album.  To circumvent this problem, he tries to release singles in the interim. 

His latest work as of December 2022 is on Seereer Heritage's single Ceereer ne ino mbogun released on 15 December 2022 which is the flagship track to the upcoming album Ino mbogu Seereer ne (to be released in 2023). On this single and album, Sène appears as one of the primary artists following Seereer Heritage's artist auditions held in Kaolack on 27 August 2022.

Although Sène have had a long relationship with the SRC Group, notably with our sister organisation Seereer Radio, this is the first time Sène is working with us in a professional capacity. His first interview on Seereer Radio was on 27 April 2018 when he was invited by the Cosaan Sereer Association of France to support Mbaye Ndiaye on his show the following day (Saturday, 28 April 2018). A year thereafter, Sène became a regular panellist on Seereer Radio's unfiltered and uncensored Jeetaay programme, which ran for six months.

On 10 June 2022, Sène celebrated his thirteenth anniversary at the Daniel Sorano National Theatre of Dakar (French: Théâtre National Daniel Sorano). Sorano has been the residency of his annual celebrations for many years. The celebrations is not how long he has been in music per se, but how long he started celebrating his annual cultural event. The Seereer Resource Centre (SRC) and Seereer Radio teams were there to capture the event just as they had at his tenth anniversary on 10 June 2019 (his last anniversary celebrations before the  COVID-19 pandemic). 

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Sène has made numerous TV and radio appearances over the years, and has close links to the Senegalese President Macky Sall whom he regularly accompanies on his pollical campaigns.

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Discography

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Title: Ino mbogu Seereer ne (album).

Released: 2023

Label: Seereer Heritage

Format: Digital & USB music card

Role: Primary artist

 

Title: Ceereer ne ino mbogun (single, from the album Ino mbogu Seereer ne).

Released: 15 December 2022

Label: Seereer Heritage

Format: Digital & USB music card

Role: Primary artist

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Title: Sayo Corona (single).

Released: 2020

Label: Class'chic Music

Format: -

Role: Primary artist

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Title: Serere (also known as Njang ka Sereer or Ndianka Sérère) - (album).

Released: 13 April 2015

Label: -

Format: CD

Role: Primary artist

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Title: d'Identité (album).

Released: 2012

Label:  -

Format: CD

Role: Primary artist

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Title: Serigne mourtalla (track by Simon Sène, in the compilation album

Tatioulene 4a by various artists).

Released: 23 May 2012 (date disputed, other: 2016)

Label: Espace Africa

Format: Cassette & Digital

Role: Featured artist

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Title: Yaye (album).

Released: 2006

Label: -

Format: Cassette

Role: Primary artist

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Title: Jamm Casamance (album).

Released: 2001

Label:  -

Format: Cassette

Role: Primary artist

 

Title: Magal (album).

Released: 1997

Label: (n/a) - Keur Serigne Fallou Production (KFP))

Format: Cassette

Role: Primary artist

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Title: Nkakaru (single).

Released: 1993

Label: -

Format: Cassette

Role: Primary artist