Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Stanford - "The other America" 1967
Even though Black History Month was in February, theres always time for a necessary moment to pay homage to the people who came before us to understand the path up ahead. This is where Killa Kyleon, one of the most thought-provoking and provocative lyricists to come out of Houston, plays a role. On his new EP, Lorraine Motel, he speaks on a heated topic on the first single, Killing Over Jays.
READ: Killa Kyleon Gets On The Grind With Styles P, Freddie Gibbs & Raheem DeVaughn
The song is a short, but heavy-handed record that features the Texan spilling rhymes about the innocent lives being taken over expensive basketball sneakers in poor neighborhoodswhile Michael Jordan remains silent on the matter. Kyleons first verse memorablystands out because it tells the all too familiar story of a youngster working hard and saving his money to buy a pair of kicks, only to be robbed and killed by local haters. He paints a very vivid picture over the jazzy, bass and horn-filled production of legendary H-Town fixture, Cory Mo.
Kyleon explains that the need for the project and its relevancy to issues in the African-American community is what motivated him to hit the studio.
TheLorraine Motelproject is directed at whats going on in todays society within the black community as a whole, Kyleonsays. Its not a one-sided commentary, it deals with the treatment people of color have been receiving from law enforcement and how we are programmed and influenced by social media, television and the culture of hip-hop to treat each other as well. As a race and culture, we need to stand together, but also take accountability for our actions. I feel the black American dream and ideal died when MLK was murdered in Memphis (at theLorraine Motel).
The timely EP also serves as an analogy of todays climate in America, he adds. We all (African Americans) died that day at theLorraine Motel. Barack Obama is the last of one of our strongest black leaders to lead us as a race. TheLorraine Motelproject focuses on events (both past and current) that have taken place since that fatal day.
The EP is available for purchase oniTunes.
Source: http://www.vibe.com/2017/04/killa-kyleon-martin-luther-king-lorraine-motel-ep/
No comments:
Post a Comment