After returning to Senegal, Maal studied traditional music with Mansour Seck and began performing with the band
Daande Lenol. Maal's fusions continued into the next decade with his ''
Firin' in Fouta'' (1994) album, which used
ragga,
salsa and
Breton harp music to create a popular sound that launched the careers of
Positive Black Soul, a group of rappers, and also led to the formation of
Afro Celt Sound System. His fusion tendencies continued on 1998's
Nomad Soul, which featured
Brian Eno as one of seven
producers. In addition to his various solo releases, he contributed to two tracks, "Bushes" and "Dunya Salam", on the concept album
1 Giant Leap. In 1998, Maal recorded "
Bess, You Is My Woman Now" for the
Red Hot Organization's compilation album
Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove, a tribute to
George Gershwin that raised money for various charities devoted to increasing
HIV/AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In 2002, Maal again worked with the Red Hot Organization, recording "No Agreement" alongside
Res,
Tony Allen,
Ray Lema,
Positive Black Soul and
Archie Shepp; as well as "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" alongside
Taj Mahal and featuring Kaouding Cissoko and
Antibalas, for the tribute album to
Fela Kuti,
Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti. On 7 July 2007, Maal performed at the
Live Earth concert, Johannesburg. Maal's album
On the Road, a live acoustic album recorded straight from the mixing boards of his shows over a 10-year period, was released in 2008. A new studio album,
Television, was released in 2009. He appears on two tracks "Hunger" and "Still" on the
Black Hawk Down film soundtrack and performed on the title track of the 2008 video game
Far Cry 2, in addition to helping to create the whole soundtrack for that game. He played at Bonnaroo and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2010. On 4 May 2013, Maal performed at the 2013 edition of the
Harare International Festival of the Arts in
Zimbabwe. In 2014, he contributed to the BBC Music's remake of
The Beach Boys song "
God Only Knows". Maal's 11th studio album,
The Traveller, recorded with Johan Hugo from
the Very Best and
Winston Marshall (
Mumford & Sons), was released via Palm and
Marathon Artists The lead singles, "Fulani Rock" and "Gilli Men", received critical acclaim. in January 2016, and was accompanied by a UK tour and headlining Senegal's Festival Blues Du Fleuve. Maal accompanied Mumford & Sons on their Gentlemen of the Road tour around South Africa in 2015. He also released a song and accompanying live performance music video with Mumford & Sons called "There Will Be Time". In 1998 Maal was honoured by the Dutch-based
Prince Claus Fund, which rewards people who have a progressive and contemporary approach to the themes of culture and development. Maal voiced the Wakandan soundtrack of
Black Panther for
Ludwig Göransson, helping introduce Göransson to many of the African musicians who contributed to the score. Maal's vocals can be heard on tracks "Wakanda" and "A King's Sunset." The two musicians rejoined each other to collaborate on the score for the sequel
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, including Maal doing a brief cameo in the
film itself as a funeral singer. To celebrate the launch of the film's trailer, Maal and Massamba Diop staged a performance at
San Diego ComicCon. His vocals can be heard on the sole track, "Nyana Wam." In an interview with
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2020, Maal discussed the ritual quality of traditional instruments, and how he chooses instruments to convey his songs' messages: "The spirit of the
kora and the
ngoni are different from the
talking drum and the
balafon, or the
sabar and the
djembe. The kora and ngoni are closer to human beings, because they are made from things that had life. The talking drum, the balafon, and the sabar are made from wood, and when you listen to them your mind goes out into the forest. When you make music and write songs, you have to know about the messages. From the messages, you know what the instruments are and how to put them together underneath the lyrics." ==Humanitarian works==