Relevant Rap

If superb Senegalese hip-hop trio Daara J's upcoming show hasn't exactly galvanized local hip-hop fans, it's because global hip-hop music suffers stateside from a bad rap. While it’s true that hip-hop activists tout global hip-hop for its heightened socio-political awareness, this critical cachet hasn't transferred to American audiences. Certainly language is a major impediment, but one that is trumped by global hip-hop's retrograde aesthetic. Note how many veteran American hip-hop performers who’ve long since fallen out of favor here sustain themselves abroad propped up by their dated styles’ ability to bear witness to formative moments in hip-hop history.

It's not surprising then to hear well-intentioned global hip-hop acts willfully stuck in a ’90s time warp, but Daara J sidesteps this snare. Initially captivated by Public Enemy's explosive output, Faada Freddy, Ndongo D and Alhadji Man looked also to a tradition closer to home for inspiration. Tasso—Senegalese rhythmic storytelling—is a poetic tradition somewhat analogous to rap that informs their music making. Coupled with their seamless infusion of contemporary Caribbean and African-American musical traditions, Daara J's sound—reminiscent of the Fugees in their hey day—simply knocks.

Although the trio released two albums abroad in the ’90s, 2004's Boomerang marked their American debut. A hearty meld of nimble wordplay (in French, Wolof—a native African language—and English) and catchy choruses over complex rhythms, the album cemented their celebrity at home and shot them to stardom in Europe where the appetite for Sene-rap had already been whetted by the Franco Senegalese MC Solaar and Senegalese pioneers Positive Black Soul. Broadly conceived and expertly executed Boomerang is a melodic collection featuring a fair amount of singing but not to the detriment of their craft. The trio employs a stunningly idiosyncratic rhyme cadence amidst Timbaland-reminiscent polyrhythms on “Bopp sa Bopp” and in a variant of Common’s classic “I Used to Love H.E.R.”; “Number One” has the trio serenading their muse over a funky bass line. “Paris-Dakar” and “Babylone” speak to the challenges facing post-colonial Francophone Africa’s diaspora recently rendered visible in the controversy over the ethnic makeup of France’s vanquished World Cup team and the continuing unrest in France’s suburban ghettos. The music on Boomerang uniquely exhibits qualities appealing to the world music connoisseur and adventurous hip-hoppers, add the intimate environs of Joe’s Pub and the late show time should make for an intense and raucous experience.

July 22. Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (betw. Astor Pl. & E. 4th St.), 212-254-1263; 11:30, $20.