Senegalese Rappers Daara J to Replace Ojos de Brujo in Wisconsin Union Theater World Stage Series

Madison (Wisconsin), USA – The Wisconsin Union Theater has announced that Ojos de Brujo, scheduled for February 3, 2006, cancelled its American tour. The theater revealed that Senegalese hip hop rappers Daara J will offer their award-winning performance instead. Daara J, winners of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award for “Best African Act,” recently performed at New York’s Kennedy Center. They will perform on Saturday, January 28, 2006, at 8 pm. Patrons with tickets for Ojos de Brujo, including Ignite Package buyers, can use these tickets to attend the Daara J show. For questions, please call the box office at 608-262-2201.

“Born in Africa, brought up in America, hip hop has come full circle,” proclaims Daara J on the title track of the group’s American debut album Boomerang (Wrasse Records, 2004). The band’s Faada Freddy explains that tasso is the original form of rap, ancient rhythmic poetry passed down from father to son. “Historically, people in Senegal would use tasso to talk about their environment, their living conditions, the situation of the country and their hopes for the future.”

“Daara J means ‘school of life,’” says group member Aladji Man. In the vein of De La Soul, Public Enemy, and Blackstar, Daara J strays from the typically macho and materialistic subject matter permeating America’s mainstream rap scene. Band members focus instead on the ills of globalism, the perils of a traditional
society, the threatened environment, and spirituality. “To the end of our pains we will always build. My generation wants to come up for air,” say the lyrics of their song “Esperanza.”

During Senegal’s 2000 presidential election, Daara J was hired to edit speeches and promote the anti-corruption political campaigns. Successfully bringing new
voters to the polls, they were able to share in the defeat of a corrupt regime.

Daara J’s music is influenced–and infused with– raga, jazz, and Cuban and Caribbean sounds. The band has spent months atop the European world music
charts, singing in English, Spanish, French and Wolof, a prominent native Senegalese tongue.

The show is sponsored by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Theater Committee with additional support from WORT, 89.9 FM. Tickets start at $18. UW-Madison students tickets are only $10 each. For more information, call the box office at 608-262-2201.