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daara J
19/11/2005 23:28
Daara J
Boomerang (Wrasse WRASS105; Full Price; 56 mins)
It’s no longer a secret that Senegal is West Africa’s hotbed of hip-hop talent, thanks to the success of talented outfits such as Positive Black Soul, Pee Froiss and Daara J. The latter have now stepped up the game several notches and, with the help of a generous budget, finally been able to fully consolidate their trademark mixture of rugged rap, soulful melodies and grinding ragga.
The opening title-track celebrates hip-hop’s homecoming to the African motherland (‘born in Africa, brought up in America, rap has come full circle’) in rapid Wolof rhymes and airy Malian melodies by Rokia Traoré. The rest of the album takes lyrical and musical excursions that spin out several subplots to this overall theme. ‘Esperanza’ is a Senegalese-Cuban anthem beautifully arranged by Sergent Garcia, the quirky visionary of Cuban music. ‘Exodus’ puts an African twist on roots reggae, while ‘Paris Dakar’, a track that features French legend Disiz La Peste, stays closer to the hip-hop conventions that inspired Daara J in the first place.
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