Turntables and Microphones

            … With artists in France, Brazil and the Netherlands all doing hip-hop, the genre has become a truly international phenomenon.  Among those embracing the genre is Senegal’s Daara J.  On Boomeran, their American debut and third album overall, the trio of Faada Freddy, Aladji Man and N’Dango D tackles socio-political issues in both French and Wolof, the Native language of Senegal, over a host of impressive tracks.  Songs like “Le Cycle,” which features Rokia Traoré, the China-guested “Hip Hop Civilization” )which references Nas’ “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)”) and “Esperanza” prove that no matter what the spoken language is, music, particularly hip-hop music, is a universal language….