We need a new term for a new kind of hip hop that is not about bitches, bragging and bling, and Boomerang will do nicely.   The word conveys perfectly the sense of a music that thrives on two-way influences flying back and forth across the airwaves. 

Daara J is a trio of singing 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 Malian vocalist Rokia Traore (‘Le Cycle’ and the title track).   They sing in Wolof, French and English, 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 (an impression formed simply by listening to the sound of their voices, but  confirmed by listeners whose French and Wolof is better than mine).   How do they do that trick of seeming to float their vocals over the beats, light and airy, making you want to sway from side to side, while the rhythm still drives forward with a steady pulse that will feel fine alongside whatever is coming out of the United States?  

The test of a truly unique project is to imagine taking the voices away and still being able to recognise who it is.   The producers and members of Daara J have pulled it off, with a sound of their own that will surely lead to recognition as one of the premier vocal outfits of our time.   Senegal has already given us two of the best hip hop albums of the new century -  Positive Black Soul’s Run Cool  and Djoloff’s Lawane.  Here’s the third, and best yet.