ILAM (Senegal)
Updated: Jul 31
Born in Dakar, Senegal, ILAM grew up speaking Pulaar, the language of his Fula people, before learning Wolof, the most widely spoken language in the city. He began his musical career in a local hip-hop group while training at Dakar’s national conservatory. In 2014, a personal relationship brought him to Montreal, where he quickly gained local notoriety for his appealing blend of desert blues and Afropop with accents of reggae and soul. His 2020 album Néné, which means “mother,” featured a collaboration with the legendary Baaba Maal and was named Album of the Year in the World Music category at two major Quebec music awards. Ilam’s most recent album, Kololo (2026), was produced by Haitian musician and fellow Montrealer Wesley Louissaint (aka Wesli).
Featured Songs:
“Wo” (Come) appears on ILAM’s third album, Kololo (2026) produced by Haitian-Canadian musician Wesli.The album title means “color” in Maroni, a creole language of French Guiana, and draws on West African traditional music, Caribbean sounds, and the music of Cape Verde. Co-written by Ilam and Wesli, “Wo” is a devotional love song in Wolof in which the narrator pleads for the return of a beloved. “Come, see your sweetheart / Come, you who has abandoned me / If I call you, my heart won’t find peace / I won’t go to sleep without you / Know that I need you / Understand that I need you.”
The Acoustic Journey track “Guyana” was produced in Montreal in a Cabo Verdean coladeira style and moves between an ode to travel and the sun over Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, and Cabo Verde. ILAM finds connections between his homeland and the broader African diaspora, singing, “I saw my people / These children playing / Under the sun / Sun of Martinique / Sun of Guadeloupe / Sun of my dear Haiti.”
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