Daara J is a trio of hip hop rappers from Senegal, West Africa, whose music draws from both sides of the Atlantic, picking up a taste of rumba here (‘Esperanza’), a dash of ragga there (‘Exodus’), slipping Spanish guitar into several tracks and adding guests including Rokia Traore (‘Le Cycle’ and the title track), firing off words like a machine gun (‘Bopp sa Bopp’) or laying back as break-your-heart crooners (‘Paris Dakar’). The production is impeccable, the arrangements distinctive and the lyrics meaningful, while the rhythm still drives forward with a steady pulse that will feel fine alongside whatever is coming out of the United States?

“Daara J have a sound of their own that will lead to recognition as one of the premier vocal outfits of our time.. One of the hip hop albums of the century” ALBUM OF THE MONTH Observer.