Coming out to America

Though they may dream for years or a lifetime, few artists ever actually make it into the pages of The New York Times. And of those who do, most are not openly gay. But Pape Mbaye landed a feature in the revered paper after just two months in the United States. Though the article got him the exposure he needed to book his first gig on American soil, the Senegalese artist, famous in his home country, remains relatively unknown here, and that's much to his advantage. "In Senegal," he says, "I had no freedom."

Though they may dream for years or a lifetime, few artists ever actually make it into the pages of The New York Times. And of those who do, most are not openly gay. But Pape Mbaye landed a feature in the revered paper after just two months in the United States. Though the article got him the exposure he needed to book his first gig on American soil, the Senegalese artist, famous in his home country, remains relatively unknown here, and that's much to his advantage. "In Senegal," he says, "I had no freedom."

That has a double meaning for Mbaye. The 24-year-old singer, dancer and drummer had developed a successful career entertaining people all over West Africa, but often ended up as TV and tabloid fodder. It all came to a head this past February, when a prominent Senegalese magazine exposed Mbaye as a homosexual in an effort to stir up mass hatred toward gays and lesbians. "The article was meant to make it public that gays are not welcome in Senegal, so they wouldn't push for gay marriage or other things of that nature," says Mbaye. "The article came out on a Friday night. On Saturday the police came to my house to take me and my friends to jail. The police beat us." This was the first of a string of systemic attacks on Mbaye that went uncontrolled, and were in fact encouraged, by the government.

Mbaye eventually fled to the Gambia, where President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh issued a pronouncement encouraging people to throw gays and lesbians out of their houses and hotels, even threatening beheading. Meanwhile, angry mobs broke into Mbaye's family's home back in Dakar and attacked his mother and sister. They also beat and killed three of his gay friends. Mbaye ended up in Accra, Ghana. "A group of Senegalese people recognized me and they said, 'You are gay, so we'll kill you.' They attacked me with knives here and here," the musician says, pointing to his elbow, neck and lower back.

Mbaye turned to Human Rights Watch, which, with the help of Washington, D.C., immigration lawyer Christopher Nugent, resettled him in the United States within a month. "The organization called me and said, 'In August you will go to the U.S., but you are going to live in New York.' I wanted New York!" says Mbaye. "The shopping, the subway..." Decked out in rhinestone-studded jewelry and a two-tone fur collar, and seated next to a table piled high with bags from Bargain 7, H&M and Macy's, Mbaye is taking his newfound freedom and running with it.

He's also carving himself a presence in the local gay scene. "I love it," says the handsome, ebullient new clubber. "I go to the gay clubs on Christopher Street. They all know me. Tonight I am going to Splash." New York gays have taken well to Mbaye, who still speaks very little English. "Everybody says they love me here," he reveals. "They say, 'You look nice. I love you,' or 'What's your name?' I say it's funny and they say, 'I love you.'" Perhaps it's that je ne sais quoi that follows so many newly out young gays upon arriving in an accepting city. Or perhaps it is simply the magnetism that helped Mbaye find fame in Senegal. Whatever it is that makes people take to him, it's helped Mbaye get his first gig as an American refugee.

Chip Duckett, a producer and DJ (he spins at Pop Rocks! every Thursday), read Mbaye's story in the Times and felt he had to track him down. "I was so moved, but my fear and my concern was that the article told a horrible, terrible story and ended with Pape leaving and arriving in New York. I wanted his story to continue further. I wanted the story to say that he made New York his home and he is performing and starting over to even better success here."

Duckett considered having Mbaye open for Joan Rivers at the Cutting Room, a show he produces, but on further consideration, thought the musician deserved his own night. On that night, Friday 28, Duckett is scheduled to interview Mbaye about his harrowing story, before Nugent (who is said to have worked on immigration issues with Angelina Jolie's international clan) adds a few comments. Finally, Mbaye will perform, freely sharing with New York audiences what made him a star, and then a target, back home.

Pape Mbaye is at the Cutting Room Fri 28.