‘sup people! It’s been a
minute. How y’all holding up? Good? Great. Now y’all know how much I love
Kendrick Lamar. Yes, I love the guy. I think he’s what 2Pac never became. Yes,
I said that. So the other day I stumbled upon an artist by the name of John Givez,
and thought he really would give Lamar a run for his money if they faced off in
a rap battle. I needed to get approval from a hip hop connoisseur before I flung such wild statements anyhow. I mentioned a while back that I was introduced to Lamar’s music,
but I never mentioned by who. Derek (he hates it whenever we spell his name this
way) introduced me to Lamar, and besides his very very brilliant insight on life and all,
he really knows his music. He is a remarkably good writer too. Enough with the
niceties, here’s Derek’s take on Givez’s album, Soul Rebel.
*
My phone buzzes.
Message
from Xavi(er)
I go ahead and open it
up.
‘Dude! I think I found a better rapper than
Kendrick Lamar!’ (This
quote isn’t verbatim, but I think that’s what he implied)
Before we go any further,
let me introduce myself. The name’s Derrick. I’ve known Xavier for about forty three
years now, and I’ve come to respect him as both a person, and a friend. I’m a
bit of a witty fella. Manchester United die-hard fan, a lover of good hip-hop,
neo-soul, deep house and party jams. My first love though, is hip-hop - majorly
J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. So, imagine my surprise when Xavier said that.
‘Are
you sure?’ I asked back, typing with escalated skepticism and excitement. First, I know Xavier never pulls my leg. If he says something,
it probably is already a fact. However, in my head, Kendrick is the apex of
rap- it doesn’t get better than that! It did get interesting however, when he
replied.
‘This
kid- John Givez- Even Lecrae says his album Soul Rebel was a concrete reply to
Kendrick’s Good Kid Maad City’. We debated these claims for a minute or so but I
trusted my curiosity and looked him up on YouTube. Wow! I knew I had to get
more!
I therefore looked up
Givez on Wikipedia. Cousin to JGivens and part of some super rap group – Dream Junkies.
Givens is this crazy-cryptic rapper: extremely good, but too cryptic. Story for
another day.
Let’s get to breaking down Soul Rebel.
The album begins with a
skit, the voices of a young woman discussing Givez with a male counterpart. She
seems unconvinced of Givez talent, unconvinced of his beliefs and once quoted
speaking of Givez misgivings with her ‘home girl’. The male seems indifferent-
on the fence even- about how he personally feels about Givez. He and the woman
resolve to listen to the album to make up their minds.
The album uses a classic
feel, with jazzy accompaniment to a well-paced percussion. The composition and
compilation is meticulous, allowing the story Givez is telling to flow
smoothly. This was comparably, the same
method used in the production of Good Kid
Maad City.
Givez proceeds to
narrate his life story down from Elementary
Trill, talking about his younger years, the struggle of a young black child
in the American society. He speaks of a preacher father who was a firm believer
in the usage of a belt and a brave heart mother who had two jobs. He speaks of
being put in the position of choosing between being a Crip or a Blood at such a
young age. In 2004 he speaks of his
later, possibly teenage years, and the peer pressure he felt of being a
‘playa’. He goes ahead to subtly, in Da
Art of Storytellying Pt. 5 talk about how he broke his virginity and
bragged about it to his friends. In the songs thereafter, he goes on to
experience what the ‘playa’ lifestyle had to offer, their encounters with the
police and how he felt he was riding on the prayers of his mother to get by. In
Chapter 29, he breaks down and prays
openly to God, quoting Jeremiah 29 verse 11, and this begins his transformation
into the man he is.
This album is the
rebellion of one man from a culture that glorifies ‘playa’ personality, gang violence,
and objectification of women, drugs, and alcohol. He chooses to rise and stand
above these cultures he grew up believing and witnessing, choosing to be the
outcast.
Well, he’s not as good
as Kendrick Lamar, but he’s close. For a rapper who is a Christian, he really
pushes the boundary and raises the standards for everyone around him. This
album, Soul Rebel, is proof that
rappers with Christian beliefs refuse to be held back within the confines of
the industry and- a sometimes critical- church. They show that they are willing
to aggressively maintain the faith while using their own life experiences to
reach out and touch their audience through contemporary styles, and this
itself, is progression. This album was a 4.3/5. Definitely a must listen. Oh,
and buy the album, support the artist and his mission.
*
Derek doesn't run a blog. I think it's stupid that he doesn't. Start your own blog, Derek!
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