SOUL SESSIONS Vol. 4

A GLOBAL WARMING 

I am not going to spend a lot of time or energy trying to examine this new world order that is changing lives in the New York streets like a sci-fi apocalypse.  What I will say is, the 400 years of impure soil that has tilled this land for centuries was bound to spread an infectious disease. Unfortunately, those responsible aren’t the only ones experiencing the ill-fated karma.   

Welcome to the Terrordome

More mercifully, until there is some sort of true acknowledgement of these historical misgivings and a heartfelt reconciliation, it’s really hard to imagine that this plague won’t continue to reek [of] unspeakable repercussions.  Only time will tell whether the final message will be clear enough for the corporations and oligarchs to digest.  More encouragingly, if history has her voice in the outcome, we will likely get through this with a much brighter and more ubiquitous understanding of just how much we need each other.  

IF 2020 WERE A TATTO

Honestly, what keeps my mind dancing at night is..., whenever this troubled time passes, what will be the tangible behavioral lessons? What will be the takeaways?  Will this society approach life any differently once the inevitable antidote “miraculously” arises?  Will we curb our naïve and insatiable appetite to spend money that we don’t really have, on things we don’t really need, to impress people we don’t really like?  Will we treat the homeless population any differently? Will we continue to take our rich & powerful DNA and share it with the Kardashians?  What about the elderly??  How will we treat them and the rest of the most vunerable amongst us -- that are being experimented on as we speak?  I fear the answer will look a lot like the reflection of the people hoarding 2-ply toilet paper, while ignoring the empty room on their shelf that should be filled with garlic, almonds, broccoli and turmeric. 

America's New Normal?

In this constant quest to make America okay again, this westernized life has had more than its share of heart-rending tribulations. And one of the healing mechanisms will come from this month’s soul selection -- more on that in a second.  After all, music has always been the perfect coping prescription for the tainted shores that surround us. And while I truly believe we are more alike than we are different, it’s those differences that keep us apart.
   
Sadly, I get it. In a self-seeking society that is fueled by capitalism, those differences have tremendous value — especially the likes of: gentrification, social injustice, education, religion, xenophobia and food deserts.  They all play a vital role in how we move and react inside of this so-called democracy.  And depending on the price of your viewing lens, these itemizations are [either] going to be very beneficial or truly toxic.  Yet, despite the hypnotic hurdles, what I love most about all genuine people is, they tend to ignore the obvious “capital gains” and instead share their God-gifted crafts, simply for the love & desire of scattering their truths to a world eager to listen. All of which leads to this month's soulful gem..., please put your headphones together to sample this unquenchable quartet from South Africa called: 

Seba Kaapstad Seba [SEE-buh] Kaapstad [kahp-staht].

Seba Kaapstad ⧫Thina ⧫ Mello Music ⧫ May 2019

First and foremost, you need to disregard all semblance of music genre or common classifications, as this fabulous foursome features the unscripted: Zoé Modiga, Philip Scheibel, Ndumiso Manana, &  band founder, Sebastian Schuster, (Seba). The eccentric ensemble mixes their diverse roots that hail from Germany, Swazi and South Africa to serve up a dope gumbo of soul, down-tempo jazz with a pinch of neo-gospel.  The outcome is their sensational sophomore LP called Thina (which is Zulu for US) -- as in we are all in this situation together – all of us.

Now, it is way too premature to call this timeless or classic, but this Berlin & Jo-Burg combo is certainly something special.  And with two-thirds of the U.S. under a quizzical quarantine, I found Thina to be the perfect home remedy to underscore these uncharted waters.   

The 43-minute journey starts-off with lead singer, Zoé Modiga showcasing her amazing tri-lingual skills on the title track, “Thina.”  This single tees-off a beautiful, yet impulsive, artsy voyage into a harmonic Zen.  What I love most about this 11-track trinket is, it sounds oh-so very familiar, yet there is nothing in your collection quite like it.  There are however, just enough elements on this project that will make you want to reach for something more familiar like the late 90’s sound from Maxwell, Jill and Erykah, with some Hiatus Kaiyote supplying the instrumentals.  

The beat on “Africa” could be the quintessential summer spark that invades the R&B airwaves like a Soul II Soul single — that is -- if the groove didn’t shift like someone learning to drive a manual transmission. Despite that fact, the melody is refreshingly dope. The single could have really used a Phonte-like rap verse (or lesson) but the music more than covered for Zoé’s failed rap career.

The cadence on “Don’t” is probably the closest you will come to something you might experience on commercial radio—and that is still highly unlikely.  The piano solo at the end glides like a flow from Steven Ellison’s (Flying Lotus) formidable fingertips.  
The single that literally stopped me in my teary-eyed track was the gospel-laced, “Dezaster”.  This churchy track spins as if someone really close to you is experiencing excruciating pain, has one outlet and we just so happen to be in the audience at the time.  The melody grabs you like a song that is ending a scene in a Chitlin' Circuit play.  The lyrics, while pretty simple are humble and poetic:

This is new, hurts like brand new shoes/Sad but true, sometimes we play to loose/Life moves on, even though you’re gone, it moves on/ Life moves on, without your song/And I think about all the joys I’ve missed/This very life of mine I’ve missed/The precious time I’ve missed/No matter what I miss, I’ll miss you/

My absolute favorite song is ‘Welcome...,"which is what you'll experience once this LP enters every black person’s household. 


1 love, 
Ray Lewis