There are so many tools out there today that enables artists to distribute their work to the public without the need for a Best Buy. it’s a trend catching on all over the music industry, and especially in the underground hip/hop world where artists like Chance the Rapper are on the cusp of greatness while making all of their music totally free. Raury self-produced this album and put it online for free. The album won’t see the light of a box store shelf, nor (at least at the time of this writing) will it see the likes of iTunes. Raury took measures into his own hands with his debut album. The music industry in particular fascinates me because it essentially has been built to filter out real talent and make music a product to market as opposed to marketing it as an exploration of creativity. I’m a bit of nerd when it comes to the structures in which art exists. Everyone’s been there, Raury just decided to put it in his album.įor me though, the most revolutionary part of Indigo Child is the way Raury delivered it. It’s a portrait of the struggle of all artists at some point in their life – balancing their dreams with the need for safety and security. Interspersed throughout the album are raw clips of Raury arguing with his mother about his career, his dreams and his ambition. Instead Raury focuses his attention on emotional issues and overcoming them.įrom “Woodcrest Manor Master”, where Raury reminds us of how love for people and places fade over time with the lyrics “If this view becomes nothing new to you, just remember once it was beautiful…” to my personal favorite “Superfly” which reminds us that life is simple at its core – Raury makes us all reflect on our own lives. Gone are the common and over-used theme of throwing money at problems, prevalent in even some of today’s best hip/hop albums. You can’t just passively listen to this album, it requires your attention. On the contrary, he uses simple imagery to break down complex themes but does so in ways you’re not expecting. But that’s not to say his lyrics are childish or naive. Raury simplifies themes such as fading love, pushing the lines, breaking the mold, establishing yourself, and many more into lyrics that everyone can relate to. Driving down the road with this album playing, I found myself viewing my seemingly “adult” problems and feelings with an eye of my younger self. Lyrically, Raury leverages his youth to drive home a wide array of human emotion.
Raury himself plays the guitar on a few tracks, a skill that translates well into his live performances – which have been few and far between, although that will hopefully change soon. The entire album is almost void of pure electronic beats – this album wasn’t made on a computer, it was created in a studio. With a variety of instruments and harmonies not heard since Jay Z’s Unplugged album with The Roots, Raury takes his musical talents and applies them to pure hip/hop.
That fact becomes obvious from the get-go. Indigo Child is revolutionary, both in its musicality and its delivery. I had read about his much-anticipated debut album Indigo Child, but couldn’t find a release date until Raury announced it on his twitter account. The care-free nature of “God’s Whisper” drew me in close and I began checking up on Raury regularly. (The song was written by Raury after a fight with his mom) Either way, I stumbled upon this young artist and his first “mainstream” (the word doesn’t really apply as Raury is still considered very well underground) single “God’s Whisper”, a musically fulfilling young American anthem and a wake up call to the establishment that the younger generation won’t compromise in their quest to take everything over. It could have been on Twitter somewhere, or could have been on Jay Z’s curated culture website Life + Times, or it could have been through SoundCloud. I’m not even sure the first time I heard of Raury. East Atlanta-based, 18 year-old hip/hop artist Raury released his debut work Indigo Child at 12am on August 25, and made a larger impact on me than I ever expected.