The relationship between musicians and the American civil rights movement is undeniable and hard to ignore even in the most cursory examinations of history, and we’re reminded of this quite frequently in the new single “I’m so Black” from Emcee Monte. Built like a top-heavy rap track but given enough girth in its bass/synth assault to satisfy fans of more experimental genres as well, “I’m so Black” is a battle cry against oppression that is designed to read like a diary entry. Much like the fight for equality itself, this is personal, and it’s showing us a side of Emcee Monte I really want to hear more of soon.
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I really like the liberal use of the synths to set up the foundation for the harmony, but at the same time I don’t even know that my man needed to put as much into the back half of the mix as he did. There’s already so much venom coming off of his lead that the instrumentation has a hard time keeping up with the prowess of the verses on a couple of different occasions; now, if this was intentional on his part, I can completely understand his desire to spotlight swagger with organic elements.
The bassline here has a really good swing that left me immediately wanting to play the whole song over again, and by making the rhythm as big and inviting a component of the hook as anything the vocal or the melodic instruments could muster would be, there’s no disputing the multidimensionality of “I’m so Black” from all angles. Compositionally speaking, I get the impression that this was an important piece for Emcee Monte in terms of reestablishing himself as a progressive songwriter. He holds nothing back and refutes the very notion of recycling old school faceting in this recording, which is more than I can say for some of his contemporaries on the east coast.
These lyrics come at us hard and heavy, but they play out really evenly thanks to the smooth delivery Emcee Monte has from the get-go. He’s never caught sweating here; on the contrary, I think that the level of confidence he’s bringing into the studio with him is something that a lot of other players should aspire to acquire on their own, legitimately. This is a man putting his mojo into the substance of the narrative as opposed to the production style exclusively, and that along makes him a winner in my book.
A striking introduction to his sound for those who are unaware of the music he’s been making for the better part of the last seven years, there’s no need for debate – Emcee Monte’s “I’m so Black” is definitely worth your time this February. In retelling stories of the Black experience, Emcee Monte has yet to disappoint in giving us as much emotion as he does moxie from behind the microphone, and I have to personally say this is definitely one of his best cuts to see widespread release thus far.
Troy Johnstone