Stern's Kwaito — South African Hip Hop (2000) was really South African house music. This collection from Senegal, Mali and The Gambia is the real thing, with all the attendant imperatives that have accrued around that adjective. Party vibes and Bomb Squad blankets are absent, and I was chagrined to make out the word pédé (French for "fag") at least twice. But while it would be a trip to hear some West African counterpart to the Funky Four Plus One or Public Enemy (and if there are any out there, please advise), these posses know how to make their stark boom-bap sing. Didier Awadi's "Libre Ego" shifts colors from singer to rappers to kora without ever getting showy about it, and the Youssou N'Dour sample that hangs the sky over Bibson/Xuman's "Kay Jel Ma" demonstrates a brilliant use of homegrown resources. Redman should be embarrassed.
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