Global hip-hop straight outta Africa – Senegalese hip hop from DAARA J

“Born in Africa, brought up in America, hip hop has come full circle,” proclaims DAARA J in their album Boomerang. Hailing from Senegal in Western Africa, DAARA J creates music with a mixture of rap, reggae, roots, soul funk and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Truly global, DAARA J beats out their music in French, touches of English and Spanish, and smoothes it out with Wolof, a native Senegalese tongue.

Winners of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award for ‘Best African Act,’ the DAARA J trio use hip hop as a positive force, in the vein of De La Soul and Public Enemy. In honour of their name DAARA J, which means “school of life,” the trio rhyme about issues such as globalism, traditional society, the fragile environment, and spirituality. You can even hear Africa in their lyrics; take these from Esperanza: “To the end of our pains we will always build. My generation wants to come up for air.”

If you’re lucky to be in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, check out World in the Park, featuring DAARA J, on Saturday, July 29th at Washington Square Park (1660 Stockton St), as part of the North Beach Jazz Festival (INFO). It’s FREE!

Otherwise, order DAARA J’s albums (here).

More:
Listen to DAARA J (windows media player):

*Exodus (HERE). Put this on, and people won't stop asking you who sings this stuff--trust!
*Esperanza (HERE).
*Le Cycle, with guest vocalist, the Malian diva Rokia Traoré (HERE).
*Read a BBC review of DAARA J @ www.bbc.ca.uk/music.