Ask any world music fan what Senegal evokes and he is likely to respond with the haunting melodies of Baaba Maal, Youssou N’Dour’s rock’n’roll mbalax or the percolating rhythm of Cheikh Lo’s guitar solos. But for all mellifluous talent of the country’s internationally established musicians, its younger generation sounds increasingly angry.
On the sunscorched roof of a dilapidated apartment block in a working-class Dakar sit Senegal’s most famous rap act, known as “Daara J”, or “school of life”. Part musicians, part social commentators, they employ a distinctly west African mix of rap, reggae and afrobeat to fire invective darts at the political establishment.
