I’m not going to lie, nothing on this tape really grabbed me. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that the music was terrible. Raury had an interesting sound, but nothing about his lyrics or performance made me want to listen to the record again after the first few listens. But I did come away with the thought that Raury had a lot of potential. So coming into this project my hopes were that Raury would have refined his sound a bit more, as well as improve his lyricism.
I won’t say that this is a perfect album but this project exceeded my expectations. Raury is definitely still making similar sounds musically. His mixture of the pop, folk, and hip-hop genres definitely still feels fresh and like he has room to grow in this space. Interestingly Raury is rapping a lot more on this project than he did in his debut record “Indigo Child”. Where we saw Raury almost exclusively singing. I know a lot of people make this comparison unfairly, but I think it’s the right thing to say in this case. When Raury raps on this album he sounds a lot like Andre 3000. The style works for him, but he definitely has a much different lyrical voice he speaks in that makes him unique.
I just find myself connecting more with Raury a lot more on this project than I did on the last. Take a song like “Peace Prevail” for example. Here Ruary gives some his thoughts on his life and where he sees himself going. This is delivered in a why that’s very relatable and interesting. Meanwhile musically he delivers some a very warm, dreamy vocals which really remind me of something I might hear on a Gorillaz record.
We also have the track “CPU” in which features a feature from RZA. I did not see this collaboration coming, but the unlikely pairing actually makes for a cool love track. Very computerized vocals on Raury’s hook which fits with RZA’s aesthetic (Bobby Digital). I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use vocals quite like this, so this was definitely an interesting listen.
I will add a special note on the track “Forbidden Knowledge“. I would like the track a lot more if I felt Raury was more clear on his message. His concept of forbidden knowledge did not seem to add up when you analyzed what he was saying. My hat is off to Big Krit though. He came through and delivered an amazing verse to close the track out.
Now to talk about the problems that I have with this album. My biggest issue with Raury is he seems to have a political message he wants to get across on the album. With all the talk of revolutions, seizing control of the government and the environmental issues, you expect an idea to come though. The problem is, Raury never really explains what he rebelling against. This is a issue I’ve had with Raury since his debut project and it continues here.
What is Raury fighting against? Is he fighting white supremacy, the government, corporations, convention. What type of change does he want to see in the world? His message is so vague it is really hard to get behind him fully. Listening to the project I get the impression that *Raury doesn’t know his message himself. If you’re going to be a revolutionary we need to know what the problem is with the way things are now, or at least your vision for the future.* At least his message seems more concise than Kanye West’s political messages he’s been making recently recently.
I think this is a very warm record that will make you feel good to listen too. There is a lot of really good moments and I see myself revisiting this project into the future.
Editor note: Revolutionary’s don’t need to point out the problem with what is now. The fundamental aspect of a revolutionary is to create some change in a sudden way. However this ultimately takes people back to same place.
–
__
Hip-Hop Review: Crimson x Ethnikids – We Put Out Some Songs – EP Review ?
Meet Robson the Humble Singer: Artist Spotlight
Music Podcast: Is Drake made it to 100 songs on the top 100, same league as legendsHim? Podcast