Big ups to the ReggaeJAHM community once again! I've been so blessed to find y'all, and now that we've laid some ROOTS together, I'd like to broaden what I can bring to this bountiful table we share here in the web of the world.
I don't care how many records have sold, or how many people like the sound. It's all about the spirit for me... and I am guessing if you are reading this, you wholeheartedly agree with me.
In an effort to be conscious humans, we seek music that flows in our hearts and minds and helps us feel good about living, that soothes our spirits as well as our surroundings. The two things I weigh in any music that graces my ears is simple:
I have a very large variety of music that I have listened to over the years, be it on the street, at home (wherever that may be), live musicians at shows or festivals, on vinyl/tape/cd/digital stream, around a fire, mixed by a dj ~ music from many different time periods and places around the world. The two questions above cover every single bit of how I judge music, regardless of the genre, language, or any other criteria that defines that music.
Here in the US most of the "mainstream" music is not only lacking in actual musical quality, but the lyrics are also shallow and lacking any substance, or worse they encourage people to live unhealthy lives. Our music industry is largely a pit of nothingness built and run by thieves and rabid dogs in this country. Most of the music of quality and substance here is independently produced, and so it actually takes some effort to find the real gems here in my country.
Let me tell ya, I learned a long time ago anything worth having takes effort; that's true way beyond just music. I have spent a LOT of time over the years learning and collecting amazing music, and I am so excited to start sharing some of these treasures with you, as I am also so grateful to be already gaining some new musical content from all of you beautiful people.
We've talked about reggae, which is absolutely built upon spirituality and reverence for the Most High. I have already started digging through older posts in this community because I don't know much about current reggae artists and I am open to learning and discovering more modern reggae.
I'd like to also dive into the genre of hip-hop with my posts, because in our home we listen to a lot of seriously amazing emcees who have flows that will keep you satisfied with their musical quality and uplifted with their lyrical content. It's one of the pillars for my partner and me when it comes to music.
I'm going to work to start regularly posting in here to bring some of these gems to you all, and it was pretty easy to know where I wanted to start...
I would like to introduce you to what I consider one of the most underrated hiphop albums of all time:
Some of you may remember Arrested Development founded in Atlanta, Ga in the late 1980's by Speech and Headliner. Here's how they describe themselves:
True Hip-hop trailblazers since 1991, Arrested Development has been cultural champions of consciousness and empowerment across the planet. Their representation of eclectic and vibrant African sounds and clothing has produced a unique clash of rhythms and style that continue to contrast the expected look and sound of Hip-hop culture.
Arrested Development have been supporters of important groups and movements like the National Coalition of The Homeless, and the African National Congress (ANC).
With numerous album releases, and world tours, Arrested Development has been ground-breaking in Hip-hop culture. Their album, “3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of…”, earned them two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Rap Single (Tennessee), 2 MTV awards, a Soul Train Music Award, and the NCAAP Image Award. Rolling Stone magazine named them Band of The Year in 1992, while VH-1 named them one of the greatest Hip-hop artists of all time! The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even named the AD smash “Tennessee” one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Sharing the stage with such important figures such as Nelson Mandela, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Hilary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, AD are the categorical definition of legends.
Unfortunately but not surprisingly, their next (and more conscious) album Zingalamaduni was completely unsupported by the industry that had so happily promoted their first big album into Grammy status. I found a great article with Speech from about 10 years ago where he discusses why Zingalamaduni was unable to reach the heights of 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of... :
Zingalamaduni is a masterpiece of consciousness in every single note, word, and song. The entire album from start to finish tickles every corner of my ears, my mind, my heart.
The name is Swahili and means "beehive culture". Here's what Speech said about why the title was chosen:
Speech: The name means, “beehive of culture”, the concept was to take the world from just the south imagery that we used in our first album and connect it to the world stage. Showing that culture is more than just an American thang, it’s a world thang - a beehive! Changing the discussion from just black/white or democrat/republican to world poverty, oppression and how it all connects!
Over the years it has never stopped performing for my soul, no matter how many other musical discoveries I have made in the genre of hip-hop or any other genre. If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend Zingalamaduni in your next musical adventure!
In the process of researching and writing for this post, I have discovered that there is a new album and Arrested Development is starting to play live shows again!
I will definitely write a post about Don't Fight Your Demons, the new AD album, if it makes the cut for what I am looking to share in here to uplift ReggaeJAHM. In fact, as soon as I am done writing this post I am going to download it and turn it up!
