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.