“Yarou” is the second single from Family, the new album by Aba Diop & the Yermande Family with guest John Medeski released on 29 August. The title means “respect” in Wolof, and the track begins with a short vocal line from Diop’s young son Ahmed, a reminder that respect is learnt early and carried forward.

Born into a griot family in Dakar, Diop grew up inside the ceremonial and social traditions of sabar drumming. Now based in the United States, he leads Yermande — named after the Wolof word for compassion and community — bringing together griot musicians and international collaborators. The ensemble place sabar and tama at the centre, not as backdrop but as lead voices. Guitar and kora trace counter-lines while bass holds the ground.

Medeski’s keyboards cut through the percussion, bending the rhythm into new harmonic colours without lessening its weight. The album’s energy comes from this exchange: sabar as source, driving melody and improvisation as much as rhythm, in dialogue with instruments from both Senegal and abroad.

“Musically and spiritually, there is nothing like it,” says Medeski. Family makes that case, showing how sabar is not preserved as folklore but carried forward as living language. For Diop and the Yermande Family, percussion holds history, message, and direction all at once.

You can listen to the album and purchase your copy HERE