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It's been a year?

Can't believe it's been a year since I last blogged.

Now that that is out of the way, lets get to business.

I really like Kendrick Lamar. Yeah I got in on the whole Swimming Pools frenzy, but you wouldn't know it now. I've downloaded a lot of lot of his songs, and even the ones I don't really feel, I like them better than the other shit that's out. His flows different. It really calls back to the old hip hop of Cali...meaning old I means 90's. It. Go. Hard.  But it definitely stands on its own. But I didn't know why I liked it so much.

Then as the good librarian I am, I found THIS article------> http://www.rapzilla.com/rz/features/story/5248

Basically, it looks at Kendrick's music from the Church Hip Hop perspective. While reading the article, I damn near went to church myself because I figured out why I like him. He is a spiritualistic artist. He takes the hierarchal aspect of religion out of the question and puts spirituality into a  realistic format. Don't believe me? Listen to Faith and then tell me that he doesn't know something about what it means to have a spiritual base living in THIS world. Not the world of the Bible where the good win out and the bad loose in the end. The world where women loose babies and black men go to jail by the dump truck load. Where people cheat on their partners and get up and preach the next morning on infidelity. This very real world.

I'm a spiritualist. And contrary to what most people of this society say about people like me, I grew up in church. Went to church camp for 11 years. Been baptized. Even participated in a few church programs. All that. Just after a while (aka. COLLEGE) I just couldn't do The Church anymore (because whether you want to admit it or not, Church has the same motive as all churches. To conform). But that in no way did this kill my spiritualist side. Honestly I think everyone has a spiritualistic side. It's just not accessed the same way for everyone. I've seen people come through the library get so passionate about being able to garden in there backyard garden that I can literally see them praying amongst their tulips and squashes. That is their access into their spiritualistic selves. When I first heard Kendrick, something went off in me. I wouldn't describe it as the euphoric feeling when I first heard Bob Marley, but it was close.  I wanted to wave my hand like the ladies do in church. I catch myself slowly tapping my foot like the deacons do when I'm listening to Kendrick. It's cause he spittin real shit. And when I say "real shit" it is honest human emotions, thoughts and feelings coming from a person in-tuned with their inert self. Honestly like the love of a woman being worth more than the love of Jesus. Or that the this rent is not going to get paid no matter how much you pray. Or forfeiting grace to go get that nigga that shot Sean last week. Those very real issues that millions face daily. He takes these raw human emotions and thought processes and puts them to verse so lyrically sound that it make you want to testify in your car.

I.

Feel.

This.

Dude.

Thanks Kendrick for making me a believer again. I feel like we could be friends.


Oh this one too: High Power

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