Babylon Warchild Presents: The Gatekeepers (Album Commentary)

Quotables

“1984, silent murder she wrote,
2012 Aquarius, 13 floors and you're ghost
Give me 3.5 to show you that the pie,
Irrational ratios of rich versus the poor,
16 bars, killed a verse
You got 8 right through,
The raging war, 11:11 upon a digital clock,
The hand strikes 12,
Your slippers were lost,” – Unknown Mizery

“Can't see the chains, can’t see the change,
They're mod' slaves, victims to the mental holocaust.
No expression, how they're showering with Molotov, fire reigns” – Legitimate

Album Commentary

Babylon Warchild consist of four members: Unknown Mizery, Legitimate, Rumplestiltz and Fresco P. Their debut self-titled album was one of my favourite albums for 2011. Towards the end of last year, I wrote a brief summary about their Babylon Warchild album in my favourite albums list for 2011. After almost a year since their debut, they have now released The Gatekeepers project. This project is feature heavy, as it has a variation of artists affiliated with Babylon Warchild. There are also a few hip hop legends on this album such as Chief Kamachi, Sadat X and Tragedy Khadafi, to name a few. All of these talented wordsmiths collectively group under the name, The Gatekeepers. The album is physically available for purchase. You can also download the album for free on their website: http://www.babylonwarchild.com/

Great albums have great tracklist, but how many provide a short story... I won't tarnish the brilliant story told by the tracklist:

The light hit the gates of Babylon exposing the system. The towers of Babylon oversee the hellbound, as they prey to the nighthawks. The international unit is the threat. The karma of kings will be revealed during the first warning. The broadcast is clear. The return of the sacred source will expose the injustice. The countdown to the requiem begins...

In a time of darkness, The Gatekeepers give the light by bringing the sound of the revolution. Rumplestiltz was responsible for creating a good majority of the tracks on this project. He was the executive producer for the project. He did justice to many of the tracks on this album. I applaud all the other producers for their great contributions to this project; Primacy, DSK & Mr. Wows produced three favourites on the album. I had high-expectations for this album, and I loved a lot of things about it. I was excited to hear that Fresco P would an official member of Babylon Warchild. He's definitely a talented artist. He has many styles, and he certainly demonstrated that on two of my favourite tracks: "Gates of Babylon" and "The Requiem".

On Babylon Warchild, I thought "Farm Complex" was amazing, but Unknown Mizery's verse on "The Towers of Babylon" exceeded my last impressions (from the track titled "Farm Complex"). "The Towers of Babylon" felt like "Farm Complex" part two, but with Wordsworth added. I say this because of the following quote from Chief Kamachi's verse:

"I'm running through the alley with the tree in the socks
Then I'm face down, never heard freeze when they shot" - Chief Kamachi

On "Farm Complex" Legitimate had a line that spoke along the same lines:

"Now police don't even need a reason why they squeezing a slug,
don't need a reason why they sweep our freedoms under the rug" - Legitimate

It goes without saying that "The Towers of Babylon" was one of my favourite tracks on the album. Legitimate started off the track with an aggressive verse:

 "I move with new recruits, fatigues and boots, clenched fist meet your tooth..."

"Hardcore, much more than you're bargaining for,
my art of war, autograph your heart with a sword"

Chief Kamachi's verse was amazing, to say the least. Unknown Mizery's verse had to be the highlight of that track. His use of numerology, measurements and time (including date specific events) was exceptional, and the way he referenced the story of Cinderella was clever and entertaining. "The System" was another track that I enjoyed. It was produced by St. Peter. At the start of the first verse, Unknown Mizery speaks about the hypocrisy of injustice done to the youth by corrupt law enforcers. In the same breathe, he speaks about the fear perpetuated by police brutality in such instances:

"When we congregate in groups, they want to call police,
but when police abuse the youth, no one be stopping heat," - Unknown Mizery

There were many other lines that I enjoyed on the track:

 "Separate the sy-stems from our seeds,
And save the trees" - Unknown Mizery

"My struggles my doctor, I've adopted patients (patience),
I get sick from quitting, not sick of when I'm waiting,
In the ring with gloves laced, fighting for freedom" - Unknown Mizery

"The Requiem" was a great outro for the album. Each artist shared great words that speak to poverty, violence and desperation. The track also touches on building comradery within communities. Babylon Warchild Presents: The Gatekeepers has a total of 16 tracks. I've barely scratched the surface of this great album.

Emay - Adam (Album Commentary Pt. II)

Disclaimer: This is the second part to my summary of Adam. Click here for the first part. If you love spoilers, you may continue reading on.

Quotables

There are many quotables on this album. I would have to make a third post just to list my top five.

Album Commentary Pt. II

Lyrically, "Method" and "Incorruptible II" (Bonus track) were the best as complete songs, but what stood out for me was the incredible final verses on both tracks. Those verses were gameover spikes (pun intended). I can't seem to pick one favourite track on Adam. My favourite narrative track on the album was "Takes Me Back (Ambivalence)". "Just aMuk" had to be my favourite introspective track on the album.

Emay gives a balance between dark and light, conflict and peace, hope and despair with his approach on this album. An example of lighter and darker imagery was made apparent on the final bonus track titled "Incorruptible II" and the first track titled “Alif Y.m.n.l.ma” (a track that uses vocal samples from John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”):

“My method is to make it feel like

you understand where I'm coming from

so you can get to know the graceful and the cumbersome” – Emay

“My method is to make it feel like

there's raw flesh peeling off your skin slow

to understand the pain that I'm in when I impose – Emay

The two opposite rhymes are parallel to each other. The two create a balance between light and dark imagery. Emay said it best when he stated, “they wonder why I'm kind of funny, yet I'm all street, and how I seem to keep it sunny yet it's all bleak”. The two rhymes are also like polar opposites: one is presented at the start of the album, and the other is presented at the end of the album. It may be a coincidence.

Story References

I enjoyed the story references that Emay made on this album:

Handsel and Gretel - “they send messages saying that you’re a lone vessel, so try to handle, Handsel (hand-sail), no Gretel”

I personally felt as though Emay alluded to the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" with the way he pronounced the word ‘stock’ like ‘stalk’ and then immediately mentioned eating beans. Right before he mentioned stalk, he talked about reaching the top. If he did this intentionally, I applaud him. But again, it may be a coincidence.

Jack and the Beanstalk – “I was always running and spinning like the top, where I wanted to reach, watching DBZ or power ranger in the T.V screen, memory kept it in stock (stalk), I would eat these beans”

Luminescence

Emay provides some words of inspiration on the track titled “Luminescence”, “you can find beauty if you look for it set sail on the water, drop a hook for it and the oceans what you already are being a star is just realization of a journey and the fact that you're already far… for you it could be anything, literally anything make a wise choice, don't decide it with a penny fling”

Are the Days

On the track “Are the Days”, Emay encourages artists and listeners to be original and honest, as opposed to assimilation for acceptance and praise. He makes it clear that he doesn’t want anyone to try to emulate his style, or sound, when he says “be yourself, I ain’t looking for no Mini-mes”.

Negro

Last year (June 2011), Emay mentioned in an online interview that he had written a track called “Nigga”. I completely forgot about the interview until I heard the track titled “Negro”. Emay said on “Un for One” that he acknowledges a menacing side that he feels must be acknowledged, so he lets that menace flex on this particular track.

“They telling me I say the N word too much, yet they keep telling me no, fucking hypocrites, so for now it's all nigga that, nigga this, just to get them pissed…” - Emay

He wasn’t kidding around. When I first heard the chorus, I laughed. It was unexpected. I didn’t even attempt to count how many times the word was used in the chorus. It wasn’t the word that made me laugh; it was more so the intentional repeated use of the word on the chorus. I wondered how the track would turn out, and I must say that the track is entertaining; it’s deliberately cheeky, but well done. The third verse on the track was amazing, to say the least. I was also amused by the Kim Jong reference.

She Calls

On “She Calls”, Emay personifies his relationship with the past. He raps about his reluctance to accept her. However, despite his neglect, she’s still persistent in her attempts to call. Listen to the track and find out how the relationship turns out. I love what Steffaloo vocally brought to this track.

  

Takes Me Back "Ambivalence"

I love what Emay did with the Dido sample on the track titled “Takes Me Back - Ambivalence”. As stated earlier, this is my favourite narrative track on the album. The song seems to be about being caught in a catch 22 or having conflicting feelings about being in a situation (as the title word “Ambivalence” suggest).

Incorruptible II *

“Incorriptible II” is two verses of pure gold. It's the bonus track on the album. Based on the lyrics and production, this is one of my favourite tracks on the album. He really put his heart into that second verse.

Emay - Adam (Album Commentary Pt.I)

Emay has been one of my favourite artists (also producer) since I discovered his music in 2010. He has been gracious enough to put out project after project for free. All of his projects (Emay, Karen O, and the Kids, Mind Altering Dynamics, and Incorruptible ) have been quality releases. Adam is Emay's debut album. The album is on my list for being one of the most anticipated for 2012. I had hoped to own a physical copy of this album, but I set aside own selfish desire and downloaded it. The album is available for free download. It is also Emay's debut album. You can stream the album by clicking here, or you can download the album by going to the following link: http://tomorrowarchaic.com/.

Album Commentary 

If you love lyrics with a bit of depth and witty word play, this album will not disappoint. I don't even need to mention how the production is flawless. This album has amazing replay value because of the lyrical content. If your ears are mostly intrigued by the instrumentals, you will be doing a disservice to your mind. This album isn't background music. Emay brings humour, aggression, encouragement, and honesty on this album. The lyrics are just as profound as his experimental instrumentals. He's flow and delivery allows the listener to become absorbed in his rhymes. After listening to this album, I am convinced that Emay can tackle any subject with ease. I must mention that Emay is also a producer. On the album, he samples John Lennon, Lift To Experience, Dido and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, to name a few. My personal favourite would have to be the Dido sample because of the way he used the sample to tell a story. If there is an overall theme that could be taken from this album it would be mastery of self and conquering fears. As an artist, Emay demonstrates that his mind is truly a gold mine, and he's giving the listeners a fraction of that wealth with this free album.

Emay - Adam (Snippet Video)

Saltillo - Monocyte (Album Sampler)