Born in Dakar in 1959, N'Dour is a singer endowed with remarkable range and poise, and, as a composer, bandleader and producer, with a prodigious musical intelligence. The New York Times most recently described his voice as an "arresting tenor, a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority". N'Dour absorbs the entire Senegalese musical spectrum in his work, often filtering this through the lens of genre-defying rock or pop music from outside Senegalese culture.

Named "African Artist of the Century" by the English publication Roots at the threshold of the year 2000, N'Dour has made mbalax famous throughout the world during more than twenty years of recording and touring outside of Senegal with his band, The Super Etoile.

Throughout his career, N'Dour has dedicated his voice to humanitarian causes. He first toured the world to take part in the Amnesty International concerts in 1986, and sang before an audience of 3 billion people for the FIFA World Cup in 1998. His role as Goodwill Ambassador to the Roll Back Malaria Partnership was initiated in 2005, when his "Africa Live: Roll Back Malaria" concert in Dakar took place. The BBC documentary of this concert has since been viewed by more than one billion people around the world. In addition to his malaria advocacy, N'Dour also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, Special Ambassador of the International Labour Organization, and Knight Chevalier of France. The YND Foundation, based in Dakar, is a humanitarian organization founded by N'Dour to bring opportunities to African youth. Notably among many honors, N'Dour was named to the "Time 100" in 2007.