Hasan Salaam – Life in Black & White

Hasan Salaam – Life in Black & White

So here I am, sitting in a airplane heading to JFK, NY and I am incredibly bored. So I figured that I would revive the blog, at least for a single post.

Todays post will be about Hasan Salaam’s most recent release Life in Black & White (Listen to it at the bottom of the post as usual).

“I’d rather you hate me for who I am, than love me for who I ain’t”

– Hasan Salaam #OGJM

Black and White photography brings the grey area of life to the forefront, and that’s what this Hasan Salaam’s “Life in Black and White” is.

Hasan Salaam is the son of a caucasian father and a black mother and this acts as inspiration for this album. In 2011 Salaam released an EP called “Music is my Weapon” and he donated all the profit from this album to build a school, a well and a clinic in Guinea-Bissau, a very poor westafrican country. He is known for incorporating themes such as post-colonial exploitation of African culture, African diaspora, racism and what he calls “the true Islamic jihad” into his lyrics.

My approach to this post will be a bit different than usual. Instead of me giving my view of this (somewhat controversial) release, I will let the artist himself share his thoughts behind some of my favorite tracks of the album. How will I do that you might ask? We are in luck, Hasan Salaam has annotated several of the tracks on the popular website Rap Genius. However, I will pitch in with some of my thoughts here and there, but the majority of this post will be straight from the mind of the artist.

This album is Hasan Salaam’s life set to music. From the racism he experienced within part of his family to the soul food that kept the rest together. From nights where his involvement in pornography put food on his table and a roof over his head to seeing The Most High in what some would consider the lowest places.

The album’s theme of cultural exploration comes through right from the beginning. “Definition” provokes thought in its literal breakdowns of the respective positive and negative stigmas behind white (“the color of pure snow”) and black (“absence of light”), from here Salaam never looks back.

My favorite track on the album is “Jericho” where Immortal Technique and Hezekiah is featured. Salaam himself annotated the following about Jericho:

Jericho Phillip Pannell was killed by Officer Gary Spath when I was 10 years old in Teaneck, New Jersey. Phillip’s cousin and the daughter of the cop’s partner were both in my class. Phillips cousin and I were bussed to “The White Side” of town. Blockbusting real estate in this community in the 1960s led to a very segregated town; the busing of students was done to “desegregate” a community with growing racial tensions.

It all boiled over when sixteen year old Phillip was murdered. I remember seeing Phillip a few times in passing at the park where we would play ball. After his death, I remember that the white teachers and staff took special interest in making sure the cop’s daughter was ok and even took her to the guidance counselor. Nothing for Phillips cousin. Phillip was Black and Spath is White. Spath claimed Phillip was reaching in his pockets when he shot him in the back. An autopsy concluded Phillip was shot in the back with his hands raised in the air, proving the officer lied. The usual cast of characters showed up, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Riots ensued. Spath was charged and acquitted of manslaughter, no more Sharpton and Jesse. The Pannell family and the community were left to pick up the pieces of injustice. Spath is walking the streets free after killing a child and Ms. Pannell is left without a sun.

This story is not uncommon in Black neighborhoods all over the country. There is no difference today than when Phillip was murdered. There are walls all around us; some of them block our progress from the day we are born. Some of these walls cannot always be seen until you apply for a bank loan, drive while Black or stand before a judge. The walls are built as color and class lines.

I often hear Caucasian Americans in arguments about race; recently I heard on Fox News “I’m tired of talking about race”. If they are tired of talking about it, imagine being stifled by these walls for generations. Our community has suffered at the hands of America from the written law of Jim Crow to the unwritten codes of racial profiling. These walls of racism, bigotry and oppression are beginning to crumble around us. What was once hidden behind the veil is now on blast for the entire world to see. Police brutality is being witnessed and shared via social media showing the world the unjust ways we are treated. Racism, Classism and every other ism are used to create the walls that separate humanity. It is up to each and every one of us to use our skills, talents and strengths to break down the walls brick by brick.

-PEACE
#HasanSalaam
#LifeInBlackandWhite

Another track that I really enjoy, albeit it also has a rather unpleasant theme is “Father’s Day” where Salaam talks about his relationship with his dad and how their relationship has turned him into the man he is today, for both good and bad.

My father gave me this 6 month old magazine he ripped from a doctors office for my bornday after calling me on the wrong day. There have been years he missed it all together. Anyone with a family member dealing with substance abuse issues knows the in and out nature of these relationships. Funny thing is in some warped and twisted way, this liberated ESPN The Magazine with whoever’s real address missing from the bottom left corner is a microcosm of my interaction with my pops. Nothing has ever been right with it, except boxing. Ironically fighting is the only thing we can talk about without fighting and is the only practical thing he has ever taught me. I learned to fight as a kid while he was fighting for his sobriety. He would pick me up, put me on the chair and tell me to put my hands up to defend myself. He would use his palms as mitts and call out “jab, jab, cross” “jab, cross, left hook”.

I learned the natural counters for each punch and how to use footwork to evade my opponents attacks. I had gotten away from training for years especially when our interactions were limited and then non-existent. There were unresolved issues that boxing couldn’t solve unless we stepped into the ring with each other.

“It’s just like riding a bike, once you know it, you know it”, he told me. I had just caught an assault charge in Ft. Collins Colorado after landing a punch only he would appreciate. I walked into a bar with a few friends and was called a nigger by one of the patrons, who proceeded to take a swing at me. I slipped it and landed a right clean across his jaw, no need for a combination, goodnight. The charges wound up being dropped by the state mostly because the dude woke up spitting blood on EMT workers and was on record telling them “I’m gonna kill a nigger tonight”. Proving self defense wasn’t a problem. Sitting here reading this magazine with a history of hand wraps, corner cut man techniques and behind the scenes information on Floyd Mayweather and his tumultuous relationship with his father, it all comes together. We as human beings are naturally flawed, but if you can find some way to connect with family, do it. It’s worth fighting for. We sat down, had a meal and spoke about old fighters, recent match ups and how I’m going to train people at Body Altitudes using some of the techniques he taught me as a child. The discussion left the ring, we fought and went our separate ways.
TKO.
Goodnight Fight Fans.

-PEACE
#HasanSalaam
#LifeInBlackandWhite

From the rather dark and unpleasant songs talked about above, let’s move on to something different. “#OGJM” as a track is noting special, but I believe that the message Salaam wants to convey is an important one, and one that a lot of people should pay attention to. The abbreviation OGJM means “Only God judge me”, and though I am as far from religious as one can come,  the meaning behind it: that none other than a deity should judge us is as important as ever. A lot of people care so much about what others think of them that they live their lives as an empty shell depleted of personality in fear of being hated or judged by their peers. Salaam starts out with reminding us that all of us has a past and a story that has formed us into the person we are today.

Every saint gotta past every sinner got a story

In the chorus, which I quoted in the beginning of this post, Salaam states that he would rather be hated for who he is, than loved for someone he is not. This ties with what I wrote above, and this theme goes on throughout the entire song. If someone doesn’t like you for who you truly are, then they are not worth your time. Remember that! Other notable track include “Modern Warfare“, “Scars Over Scars” and “UnOrganized Religion”

Overall this album is one of my favorite of 2015 so far, and as always, I enjoy when artists talk about things that are not “how rich they are” or something similar, and boy does Salaam deliver on that point. Do yourself a favor and give this a spin. If I can find time for it I will try to cover some the following 2015 releases in the coming weeks/months/millennia

• Fashawn – The Ecology
• Lupe Fiasco – Tetsuo & Youth
• Mello Music Group – Persona
• Joey Bada$$ – B4.Da.$$

Something missing you think? Yes, this year’s biggest (and probably best) release To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. I absolutely love this album and there are more than enough room to dive into it, but the primary purpose of this blog is to write about artists that people would otherwise overlook, and I don’t think that will ever be the case with TPAB or Kendrick Lamar in general. But who knows, I might get stuck in another boring place again in the near future and then anything can happen.
J

PRhyme – PRhyme

                                                                             PRhyme – PRhyme

Here is something for old-school fans out there. I just realized I missed the release of PRhyme a few days ago. PRhyme is the eponymous album by newly-formed hip hop duo PRhyme. PRhyme consists of DJ Premier, who was half of the legendary hip hop duo GangStarr alongside the late great Guru. The other half of PRhyme is Royce Da 5’9″, a veteran MC who is known for his longtime association with Eminem (They formed the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil). Royce and Premo are longtime collaborators and I have been looking forward to this project for a while. Especially Royce have a special place in my heart, as he was one of the first hip hop artists that caught my interest with tracks like T.O.D.A.Y, Hip Hop and Boom. 

In anticipation for this album Royce and Premo are sharing a accompanying documentary which follows their personal and professional journey through the industry. The documentary is narrated by Bun B. Watch it here:

Even though Royce has a special place in my heart, it has been several years since he released something I really liked, but that is probably going to change now with PRhyme. I won’t be going into detail with the album since I just ‘discovered’ it today and thus haven’t heard it enough to justify me saying anything at this point. However, after the first two spins, the album sounds really promising and will probably dominate my playlist the coming week.

If you don’t know DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9″ this seems like a great place to start, and from here on you can explore the deep and great discography of the pair.

Have an awesome weekend.

J

 

Blue Scholars – Bayani Redux

Blue Scholars – Bayani Redux

I have a real gem for you all this time. Bayani Redux by Blue Scholars. Blue Scholars is probably not a name that most of you will recognize, and that’s a shame. Blue Scholars were created back in 2002 in Seattle, Washington were the two members,  Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi, DJ) and Geologic (George Quibuyen,MC), were students at University of Washington.

The name “Blue Scholars” is a play on the term “blue collar,” an idiom for workers who often earn hourly wages for manual labor. Their music and lyrics frequently focus on struggles between socioeconomic classes, challenging authority, youth empowerment and marijuana. – Wikipedia

You won’t find any meaningless rap about girls, money and cars on this album, all the songs have a clear message, and the stories are told in a brilliant way, such as in The Distance, where Geologic explains the problems that immigrants face, which will leave you feeling compelled to take a action when the song ends. Political conflicts, war, human oppression, you name it, Geologic covers all aspects of the problems that our world is characterized by. All lines are well thought out and there is no “fill”. It is also very clear that Geologic says exactly what he thinks needs to be said. He is in no way dependent on the record sales. As he raps in North by Northwest:

In the upper left, you gotta be patient / because radio stations ain’t going to play us / unless you sign the dotted, or make your rhymes brainless.

One of my favorite songs on this album is Joe Metro, which you can listen to (and watch the music video) above. Here Geologic uses a bus ride through Seattle to describe the city and the social interplay of the people living and interacting within it. The diversity which exists within a random collection of passengers on a Metro bus, most all of whom are strangers, whose lives might never otherwise intersect, gives a context in which to comment on the condition of life in the city.

I can’t do this album justice with a ‘review’, but I can promise you that if you liked any of my other recommendations, there is a pretty good chance that you will LOVE this album. Its just that good. Further, as mentioned in the beginning, you probably had never heard of Blue Scholars before this and I think that is a shame. These guys are good, really good, and I would love for this kind of music to get a bit more time in the spotlight so the hardworking musicians behind can get some recognition. Do we really need another pushed and over-hyped pop-star or the mindless “Money, Cars, Girls” rappers out there?

So this is a early Christmas present from me to all of you. I hope you enjoy and found some inspiration for new and exiting music on my blog.

J

 

Intuition & Equalibrum

Intuition & Equalibrum – Intuition & Equalibrum

So after some weeks where I went all-in on my nerdy side, whether I was discussing Magic: the Gathering or concept albums, I did not cut myself short to say the least. So this time I will try to keep it more manageable.

This album was pretty much the theme of my summer. I seriously think I listened to this album 3-4 times a day for two months, I just couldn’t get enough. And still to this day, each time I put it on I listen to it at least twice. Before we dig further into the album, here is a little teaser to keep you interested:

Intuition (Vocals) & Equalibrum (Producer) has created a magnificent, and self titled , album. Right from the first track, Weight is Gone, we get the sense that I&E doesn’t give much attention to how far they have come, and how far they can come, with their music.

I’m half way to “has been”, but yet I never was

However, this could also be seen as a liberation given the tracks title. They are no longer restrained by expectations.

On the next track, Old Enough, they continue this ‘trend’ with

I’m unpaid and infamous / Played a thousand shows, not a one made a difference / Hmm, maybe I’m doing it wrong / But you can find me at your local dive doing this song

On this album, Intuition operates in the borderland between crisp depression and witty pessimism, proving that a lot has happened since Girls Like Me (his previous album), where he ran around in LA with his hand down his pants and whistled at girls.

This album is by no means a “heavy” or depressing affair. Intuition’s perspective is just switched from the guy who enjoy life rapping with his rap friends, to the more adult and mature man, who have been through some things, which changed his view of the world. His father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years after Girls Like Me, which prompted Intuition to write the track Imagine where he raps:

“….I’m not angry /
Nah wait, im angry as fuck /
But im not angry at you, man, im angry at luck /
Im angry that me and family and you had to be stuck /
Watching the man that you were blow like granules of dust”

Reality has shaken Intuitions view of the world, and on several tracks, he seems to think about life in general, rather than rapping about his here-and-now. Here is an example from Weight is Gone:

Shit, it’s funny how the time flies /
And how it never quite feels like the time’s right /
It’s real life over rap life /
And that’s fine I just hit my prime /
And I started back in nine-nine /
Damn, ninety-nine, what the fuck? /
I aged gracefully /
It’s probably cause I never felt the need to play make-believe /
Been honest to a fault and pace patiently /
If nothing ever comes, I’m still grateful where it’s taken me /
Cause even if it all just ends /
I still met a couple gents that I can call best friends

He expresses his gratitude, which seems deeply sincere, and, despite his status as a unknown rapper after a half decade as a rapper, it doesn’t seems to get to him. On a track like Make Better (See video above), he lets optimism beam through and assures us that he also know that he has never held back from trying:

Don’t measure success by the rest, it’s less presAnnotatesure /
To dive into it headfirst, and ride for what you exert /
It hurts less to just hurt, don’t avoid it /
The product of the pain tends to make for more enjoyment /
It’s something that you’ll toil with growing past your pride /
So fail hard and fail fast knowing that you tried

Make Better is also a good example of intuitions “secret weapon”, not only is his writing skills sublime, and his flow exceptional and completely effortless, he can also sing.

Intuition & Equalibrum has created one of the year’s finest and most complete records. The lyrics are masterfully written, and as a listener you are allowed to peep through a keyhole to a personal universe rarely equaled. The productions oozes soul and mood, and even though they often lie in the subtle end of the scale, they function perfectly in their interaction with the lyrics.  So without further ado, sit down, put your feet up, close your eyes and relax and just listen to this magnificent album.

J

The Mad Writer

                                                                       L’Orange – The Mad Writer. 

Winter is approaching whether we like it or not. Sunshine becomes a sought after commodity and we tend to curl up on our couches and hoping it will all soon be over (or that Game of Thrones finally returns).

Dedicated to originality, L’Orange imbues his smoky, soul-soaked tracks with lush texture through inventive mixing and psychedelic cuts from classic radio recordings. A shopworn MPC and vintage vinyl are essentially paintbrush and palette for L’Orange. He finds his signature samples from pre-1950s jazz, soul and radio. He stitches together a sound that acknowledges his penchant for classic film noir and shadowy motifs. L’Orange albums are often cinematic and narrative in structure, exemplifying the artist’s highly conceptual creative process.

The Mad Writer is the result of a highly creative hip hop producer with gloomy trends that have a dominant love of film noir and jazz from 1920-1950. Imagine a hiphop version of that. With a wealth of bits and pieces of movie dialogue and samples, which could easily have come from film noir, L’Orange has created his own little musical film noir. All the right components are present: The overall gloomy mood; the self-destructive protagonist who, quite classic, is a writer on the road to ruination; the seductive femme fatale and then the melodramatic atmosphere leaning against the unpleasant.

I won’t go further into detail with this album, since this blogpost was just a impulsive thought provoked by the grey sky and sudden drop in temperature.

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I and as alway, you can listen to the album below. And if you enjoy this album you will definitely also enjoy his latest work The Orchid Days.

J

Oneirology

You can listen to the album at the bottom of this post.

Oneirology, derived from the greek words oneiron and logia (which roughly translates into “dreams” and “study of”) is the scientific study of dreams. It is also the title of CunninLynguists fifth studio album.

“I had a funny dream, the other night
I was floating on a cloud”

With Oneirology CunninLynguists sets new standards for concept albums. Next to undun (read about it here), this album is the most accomplished concept release I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Oneirology is a lot more that just hip hop – it is a journey with an accompanying soundtrack – not unlike undun (okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for these kinds of albums). However, the story, or concept we face here are way more abstract than the one told by undun.

CunninLynguists is an American hip hop group from Lexington, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia. The group currently consists of Deacon the Villain, Kno, and Natti. These three take us on a journey through one of literatures greatest works; La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) by Dante Alighieri.

The Divine Comedy, described as an epic poem, follows Dante and his journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio) and Paradise (Paradiso).  An allegorical description of the soul’s journey towards God, and the extensive cleansing it must go through along the way. Oneirology is 2011’s hip hop version of the middle part, Purgatory. With that sorted out, we can now move on to the actual tracks.

Predormitum (Prologue) is the first track, and right off the bat we are confronted with the dreams theme. Predormitum is the stage of decreasing consciousness that represents a transition stage between wakefulness and sleep, and the song is one big abstract metaphor for this. The track opens with a potpourri of sound elements; the wind howls and the sound of pouring rain. The rain ceases when the lyrics start; we are heading into dreamland. Natti, who is the main character in the story presents us with a utopian dream-mode where time is irrelevant, money has no value, and everything and everyone is accepted. Deacon takes a more defensive stance to dreams, and expresses fear of what they (dreams) can do to him,. This is all very abstract, which fits the theme as sleep and dreams are a very strange state of mind.

On Darkness (Dream on) we are going on an exploration into the darker parts of the subconscious.  Darkness encloses on the sleeping who are now approaching the dream state. Deacon still seems a bit confused by the circumstances, and Natti starts to fear that his dark side will show up in his dreams

“Way under in slumber is my true self shown?
A glass house cracked from a few stones thrown”

In the end Anna Wise (feature on the track) warns them not to succumb to their fears before they finally fall to sleep.

Phantasmata functions as a transition piece where a beautiful vocal sample tells us what it is like to be enveloped by a nightmare. The short track ends with a narrator telling us about how our sexual and violent desires does not appear directly in our dreams, but rather in disguised form. The dark sides Natti was afraid of are ready to step forward in his consciousness. It is here, in the dream state, that the dreamer enters a gate to Purgatory and prepares for the journey through it while he shall face his sins.

Dante depicted this journey as a mountain that needed to be climbed in order to go through purgatory. Each terrace on the mountain represents a sin and this is where the sinners atone for their sins. If you, like me, find this fascinating, then you might enjoy this.

The first three sins; pride, envy and anger – caused by perverted love of those, who through desire or act, are going to do other harm. The fourth sin, sloth, caused by flawed or inadequate love. Spiritual laziness and inability to love anything or anyone. The last three sins, avarice, gluttony and lust, is caused by excessive love towards things that should be secondary to the divine, such as material goods.

Worth noting is it that CunninLynguists has taken the liberty to alter the order of the sins a bit.

However, as mentioned above, the three first sins are driven by perverted love directed towards actual harm of others. With this in mind it is no surprise that Hard As They Come (Act One) represents the first part of the journey up the mountain. Freddie Gibbs (featuring on this track) personifies cocaine, Natti personifies alcohol  and finally Kno personifies AIDS – all of which can cause direct harm to others.

“If I could get away with murder,
I’d take my gun and I’d commit it”

The next track, Murder (Act Two), starts off with a vocal singing the above. This track describes the sins of the proud (the first terrace). This sin often is described as “he who, through abusement of other, hopes for supremacy“. With this in mind, we can assume that Big K.R.I.T (feature on this track) draw parallels to a certain country’s president by rapping:

“Drop bombs on innocent people or innocent homes
With automatic weapons or military drones
While me and my friends play croquet
And make bets on which country liable to fold next”

After K.R.I.T, Natti raps as if he is a religious leader, who recounts how the church greatly abuses people for their own benefit.

“I could use worship as a warship, bible and sword
Turn men and women to minions over Heaven’s rewards
Promise Islamic bombers Heavens harem of whores
For taking out a couple of floors”

The way they manage to get around topics as ecclesiastical as political abuse of power and at the same time keep the theme of the seven deadly sins so tight, is simply brilliant.

Next up is My Habit (I Haven’t Changed). This track is about those who suffer from envy, fear of losing their own reputation, honor and favor, and your own misery makes you rejoice in other people’s problems. We get the feeling that Natti and Kno wishes thatwere more recognized as musicians:

“rappin’ makes me happy so why stop why care”.

Next sin depicted is “Sloth” on the track Get Ignorant. You don’t need the enigma so ‘solve’ this one though. Deacon almost hands it to us on a silver platter:

“Through all the pettie drama’s I’m calmer than a sloth”

Even though “sloth” here represents the animal, sloth the sin, is pretty obvious throughout the track. However, it is mental slothfulness that is the theme here. More specifically the inability to take care of ones neighbor, and if one lives with an ignorant view of the world,  as Kno, brutally honestly, raps:

“Genocide in East Africa,
but you watching Battlestar Galactica”

Further, the track is also about the need to part with “The American Dream“. You need to pursue your own dreams not the ones of everyone else. Shattered Dreams continues this theme and also incorporates the next sin; Gluttony. Natti raps about all the material things in our society that have become symbols of success:

“Reefer and liquor dance, my chemical romance
My pitiful cold hands / That ache to be warm
Like a tux with gold cuffs that waits to be worn”

Stars Shine Brightest (In the Dark of Night) represents the sin of Greed by mildly exaggerating the need to believe in oneself and to seize the the day. One would think that avarice, or greed as some prefer to call it, binds to the things of economic value, but here greed has far more to do with people’s ego; extravagant ambitions and excessive pursuit of what benefits oneself the most. Even when your life and everything in it is going well, the wrong things can be focused on and life’s true meaning can be skewed. But this desire to have a good life can be turned around and used to create a true meaningful life for oneself:

“When victory’s in vain it’s the same the blood coursin
Of course when selfishness inside provides poison
Apply it to your life and let it sink in like ointment”

After this comes a short interlude called So As Not To Wake You. After the beautifully composed beat the narrator talks about how both emotions and thoughts, but primarily visual images, represent our dreams.

With Enemies With Benefits we reach the last sin covered on Oneirology; Lust. Lust is characterized by misguided sexual desires and so-called “unrestrained behavior”, something that Natti, Kno and Tonedeff (feature on this track) frolicking in the end. Natti who raps: “I’m part Vader, I think with my saber / I live in crazy town and I’m married to the mayor,” Kno make a metaphor out of the Superman universe, and Tonedeff, with his unique speed-flow seems just as sexually attracted to this “devil in a baby blue dress” as he seems confused about the whole situation.

On Looking Back the main characters is waking up and reflects on their dreams as they return from the world of dreams. As Anna Wise sings in the chorus: “If this is not the hardest part, I wanna part before it gets too deep.” After this Deacon comes in and raps:

“It’s easy to cross a line and blame ya flesh for the crime
I’m sorry it’s just the way we designed
My dear we should leave here, I’m talking ’bout one at a time though
‘Cause you got me changin’ my mind slow
Leave here, says that voice in the back of my spine
As I awake and the moment rewinds”

The piano piece on the next track Dreams is nothing less than the sound of waking up – or at least a very good try to imitate it. If the waking could have a soundtrack, it would sound like!
On this track our sleeping protagonists has reflected and thought about their dreams and are ready to process them. Natti have understood that “The American Dream” is not the right one, and sets out to pursue his own dreams. Deacon urges to dream big, and not being afraid to aim as high as possible as long as it really is what you strive for. Tunji (featured on this track) has accepted his inner dark side, but will not let it come out into the real world:

“See, I’ma stay the same, no matter how far that I go
And I’ma stay the same, no matter how far that I go
I think bright, even though inside I’m dark and I’m cold
Feel the pain in my heart and my soul, but I’m livin’ my dream”

Bianca Spriggs summarizes the entire journey on the next track Hypnopomp (Epilogue) in the form of an adventurous poem based on Greek mythology. And I simply love this part! A hypnopompic state (or hypnopomp) is the state of consciousness leading out of sleep. The poem is about the brothers Morpheus and Phobetor who are the sons of Nyx, goddess of the night (her offspring is called the oneroi, and Morpheus is the leader of these). Morpheus is the good of the two, and he has the ability to appear in dreams as any man who can “show us the light”. Phobetor on the other hand is the evil that occurs in dreams as nightmares, in the form of animals, monsters and other creatures. He has the potential to destroy our dreams, and thus represents the ignorance that can thwart our sincere dreams. One must, in other words, fight Phobetor to be able to choose ones own path. Our protagonists, the dreamers, fight Phobetor, and when they wake up and digested their dreams – the track “Dreams” – they are aware of which path is the right for them.

The last track Embers depicts this path. Embers is a symbol for love, because love is the right road. It is a cliché, but as a final morale on a album like this, the message could not be more welcome. Kno paints a picture of a really dark and nasty place where nothing is as it seems. He seems to be trapped in a nightmare, and although the vocals sampled in the end says that dreams might also show him his right path. However, it seems as though Kno tries to tell us that, in reality, this is not always the way things pan out. And that no one knows the future, so how would anyone know which path is the right one? And I will leave you here with a great bar from Natti on this track:

“It wasn’t Heaven that I was seeking but a haven I sought
A canvas of the mind painted with my thoughts”

Simply brilliant!

Wow, this turned out longer than I expected. Hope you managed to get through all of it. This is truly an amazing album with an amazing story. Let me know what you think in the comment-section below.

J

New feature: Album of the week

New Feature: Album of the week

I just added a new feature to my blog: Album of the week. It will feature albums that I probably won’t have time to cover with dedicated posts on this blog, but who am I to deny you good music?

It will be shown on the right sidebar on the landing page. So now you got another reason to check out my blog regularly. I will recommend a new ‘album of the week’ each Monday.

Also, here is a small teaser of the titles of my upcoming posts for the next couple of weeks:

– Miracles test sessions (Video content)

– Adjusting to a Modern World (3 part series)

– Bayani Redux

– Intuition & Equalibrum

So remember to check for new posts regularly (if you by any chance should miss my announcements on social media).

J

undun

To kick of my first blog post I will write about what probably is my biggest musical obsession to date: undun by The Roots.

undun is the 10th studio album by the American hip hop band The Roots. undun is an existential concept album about the fictional character Redford Stevens. His story is reverse-chronological narrated throughout the album while the major underlying theme revolves around the idea of a person’s life choices being determined by their surroundings. In the case of Redford Stevens this is the ghetto. The Roots describes the albums as follows

undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but wasn’t born criminal. he’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?

The story of Redford Stevens begins with his death (remember the reverse-chronology) and from there it explores the circumstances and decisions he made that led to his early demise.

1. Dun

The first track of the album, is merely the sound of a flatlined heart monitor which sets the tone of the story.

2. Sleep

This song is when Redford is lying on his deathbed. This song works as a superb introduction to the album. The song is dominated by quiet drums and the beat is slow paced. This could symbolize the limited time that Redford has left in his life. Black Thought (Vocals) then delivers a fantastic verse focusing on what Redford is thinking about on his deathbed, which circles around his fears about how he will be remembered by his family.

3. Make My Feat. Big K.R.I.T & Dice Raw

Big K.R.I.T comes in with the first verse on the track. He delivers an outstanding verse with a great flow and lyricism describing Redford turning to drugs.  “Well, in the world of night terrors it’s, Hard to dream, they hollerin’ cash rules everything, Just call it cream, cause when it rises to the top, You get the finer things.” This really paints a vivid picture of what was going on in Redfords life..

4. One Time Feat. Phone & Dice Raw

This songs really shows how Redford is fed up with the standard 9-5 jobs and he can not picture himself ever being in that situation where he has to work at the same time, every day, for the rest of his life. The drums and piano are the dominant instruments in this beat and really add to the emotion of the song. This is probably the song that connected with me on a personal level more than any song I have heard in a long time. The hook gets me every time!

5. Kool On Feat. Greg Porn & Truck North

This is probably my favorite song on this album. This song shows Redford at the peak of his life when he has loads of money and is going out gambling wearing a tux. Porn sums Redford’s gambling life well “Good times is in the cards.” This shows that Redford is enjoying his lifestyle. The chorus is also very uplifting “Come get your Kool On, stars are made to shine.” This song never fails to put a smile on my face and always puts me in a good mood.

6. The Otherside Feat. Bilal Oliver & Truck North

The drums start off aggressive and the piano comes in with a high pitch sound which makes this song more emotional. This song shows that Redford is at the point of his life where he is starting to give up. He doesn’t see the point in life and does not know what he has done to deserve this lifestyle.

7. Stomp Feat. Greg Porn

The song uses samples from the warmup speech of Georgia Tech Pastor Derrick Moore to set the scene. Redford falls deeper into his criminal life and even commits murder. Redford’s just about had it with his situation. He’s tired of living and barely surviving, so he’s about to do whatever it takes to get ahead, even if his family won’t understand his decisions

8. Lighthouse Feat. Dice Raw

The beat on this song is very emotional and really fits the theme of “Suicide” in this song. Redford is feeling alone and at this point in his life he is contemplating suicide. The piano slightly echoes in this song which really adds to the beat.

9. I Remember

One of the best songs on the album, this brooding walk down memory lane finds Redford reminiscing on past friendships, old stomping grounds, and (maybe) his complicity in a friend’s murder. Redford, looking back on his life and realizing the cost of the choices he’s made.

10. Tip The Scale Feat. Dice Raw

In this song, the beat is very slow and the drum beat is very basic but very hard hitting and powerful as some of the other instrumentals on this album. Black Thought and Dice Raw describe Redford wanting to turn the odds of survival in his favour while avoiding to live this criminal lifestyle. However, we all know that this is not possible hence his death at the beginning of the album.

11. Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)

12. Possibility (2nd movement)

13. Will To Power (3rd movement)

14. Finality (4th movement)

The last four tracks on the album are instrumentals. I believe that these represent the very beginning of Redford’s life where he is just a baby (hence the fact that there are no vocals on this album).These instrumentals take you on a rollercoaster because it can go from very gentle and calm to absolute havoc and concludes (or starts?) the story in a great way.

As if this project wasn’t already artistically astonishing by itself, The Roots made a short film about Redford Stevens narrated by songs from the album. Enjoy

I hope you all enjoyed the read and if you haven’t listened to undun yet, do yourself a favor and give it a couple of spins and experience it for yourself.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

J

Links to the albums can be found here: Spotify and iTunes

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