WOMAD

Hocus Pocus

From France

There are plenty among us who believe that some of the most persuasive, most lyrical, most SEXY rapping has been done in the French tongue, whether it’s blown our way from West Africa or mainland France. If you’re a believer too, then welcome Hocus Pocus to the bandstand, a five-strong crew who fend off the bullshit often attached to hip-hop. They go straight to the music’s positive essence and do so, like their kindred American spirits The Roots, using good old-fashioned instruments – a drum kit, a bass guitar, some tasty Rhodes keyboards… Naturally, more traditional hip-hop foot soldiers are present too; a tack-sharp DJ and, in 20Syl, an MC and frontman who effortlessly spreads vibes of liberté et fraternité. Sited at the more cerebral end of hip-hop and doffing their collective baseball cap to jazz and soul, Hocus Pocus make choice hip-hop that, in the words of the French daily paper Libération, “refuses uniform thoughts and the short attention-span of society”. Salut!