His fans had to be patient, but after his debut album Gospel Journey (2016), Senegalese singer, rapper and songwriter Faada Freddy returned this year with the extraordinary album Golden Cages. In his own words, “my music is 100 percent organic and 0 percent technological”. Human vocal cords and body percussion are the only instruments. On this groundbreaking concept album, the polyphonic gospel vocals that Faada loves so much predominate, but he regularly ratchets up his songs by sprinkling them with slick raps. For Faada, hip-hop is not unknown territory. He established his reputation back in the 1990s with the rap group Daara J, which means “the school of life” in the West African language Wolof. Incidentally, Faada was definitely not idle during his long break from recording; he has given over 300 concerts worldwide in recent years, and it shows in the sophisticated, confident performances of Faada the entertainer.
