Soul-Junk
1959
Following up on my last post for Soul-Junk's "1958", I want to mention their latest release 1959. On 1959, the tight lyrical rap flow found on 1958 has been replaced with lyrics matching the book of Psalms, word for word. What's not missing is the spaced out sounds anyone familiar with SJ is used to hearing, making 1959 an album that could be a form of meditation, as much as an album to chill to. This would make Soul-Junk the only band I know who sings bible verses over music that sounds like you're having a mind-altering hallucination. Definitely an album to check out to hear something unique.
Soul-Junk
1958
While listening to Soul Junk's album "1958", I was reminded of the wide range of hip-hop I grew up on. There's elements of Redman's funkadelic spaced out style, to De La Soul's old school flow on here, all intertwined with spiritually conscious lyricism. Throw in a dash of trippy sound effects and you have an album that taps into another realm of hip-hop (I believe the correct term is "glitch-hop"). This one's not a new release, but it's definitely one to dig into if you haven't already heard it.
When fire and passion give in to the status quo, the mechanical minds govern the air, and the heart bleeds regret...
In my mind there are 2 worlds. One has been colonized and ruled by oppression, the other is an unknown world that has yet to be explored. Liberation is calling...
Heretics Guide To Eternity
Spencer Burke
I have to admit, I hate religion. As much as I have issues with religion, God is important to me. And when I talk about God, I talk about Him not in the way that religion has made Him out to be. For some people, religion brings up images of oppression and bigotry, while others find it as a comfort zone where they can feel secure. Religion to me is useless. To quote my friends at Revolution NYC, “Religion kills.” I’ve seen ways that it has intimidated people in the name of God. It makes me sick. The very things that you would think that God is for, like unconditional love and forgiveness for all people the way Jesus showed, religion twists to make it an exclusive benefit for “member’s only”. So it’s understandable how people get uncomfortable when the topic of God comes up, being that for so long God has been associated with religion. Rather than continuing this as one of my rants on religion, I want to mention a great book that I just read. It’s called “Heretics Guide To Eternity” by Spencer Burke. In it, he shares a lot of the views I just listed above, but going further by confronting the sacred cows in religion by using personal experience and the examples of Jesus. After all, Jesus was the original heretic. And not only does he challenge the status quo, but he says we need more heretics! We no longer live in a time where heretics are burned at the stake. But there still are people in religious circles that will condemn others that they think don’t fit their traditional mold. And it's those kinds of people that this book would drive ballistic. But for people that have issues with religion and still seek the mystery of God, you’ll find this book helpful. It’s a challenging read no matter what background you may come from, but well worth it. So, are all the heretics ready to come out and play? ;)
