Young Holiday is easily the finest lyricist of all I have heard from in Cameroon: an unemphasized (I don’t know if the is even a word) threat or breath of fresh air (depending on how you chose to see it) in the scope of the essence of the art of poetry being the fundamental undertone of hip hop, especially rap.
For a guy that has ‘Young’ in his name, I have to say the maturity of the content makes the name sort of ironical.
Since it is Holiweek and we are going all spiritual on this one I decided to talk first of the philosophical nature of the EP. It paints a picture of the different stages we go through in life - at least for those interested in philosophical interpretations of human nature and human existence.
I took the liberty to rearrange the tracks in the order I think you should listen- if you want to understand the body of work in the light in which I received it. It might help at this point to buy the the EP and read this as you listen. Instructions are at the end of this post. Nonetheless, reading this without listening to the EP is still worth it and I hope it can make you want to shell out that 1k.
Ok. So I rearranged the tracks as follows:-
1. Hail To The King 2. Resurrection 3. Judah 4. Crucifixion 5. Intro - August 29th 6. Worth Living 7. Last Supper (Remember me
Now let’s discuss the content of each track as it relates to the stages of life I am talking about.
Hail To the king:
“For God so loved Hip Hop.”
Who isn’t excited when a baby is born. We all have mixed feelings about some of the pregnancies but the day that baby finally comes, everyone is happy without forgetting the exceptions to the rule. Even the baby is excited. It believes its birthday should be a holiday. The featured Artist is singing “Hail to the king” as we would all sing for a new born baby.
The baby has dreams then starts to express them. The world is his for the taking - he becomes a ‘wind of change.’
Resurrection:
Resurrection is that moment in life when he realizes people no longer clap for everything he does. When he develops an understanding of the mindset of limited resources; when his idols becomes his rivals, and when he begins to relate to the negative uses of power.It is the time when life’s opposition or competition ceases to be healthy and begins to feel life threatening. This is when he begins to get honest answers about his performance - we no longer congratulate his less that perfect attempts.
This is when they no longer let him win; when he has to fight for the win. This is where he has to reassert himself of his boundless human potential to be the best that he thinks he is. This is also where he announces his intentions to win the battle for a line in life’s history book. When he moves from justifying every action of his to questioning his intentions then onto reanouncing his greatness.
Judah:
Judah has always been there but he is only now able to connect the dots, finding out many things are not as he had imagined. He feels betrayed by life and by people.
Crucifixion:
In his words:-
“I know you will set me free if I start lying If I start obeying every single stop sign If I could just agree to everything you say - right If you didn’t see me as a threat you wouldn’t mind right I know you will like me more if I could not fight If I could just move along, like I’m blind If I wasn’t one of the greatest of all time - you for dey for church now di pray say ma’ shine..”
In this song, he is addressing the betrayal as if to convince everyone and make a case for why we should all be showing more love at the same time realizing that his justifications might only fuel the hate more.
Intro-August 29th
In this song, he is realizing that the world around him doesn’t care much for his dreams and he has to find energy from within to fulfill his desires. This is where the landlord tears down the studio and instead of taking up a fight with the landlord, he understand the bigger thing to do is to find whatever place is available for him to make a makeshift studio and continue with his work. This is when he learns not to cry over spilled milk. This is when he finally gets to accept that he cannot and will not please everybody. He learns he cannot control everything as he wishes. This is when he learns to count his losses and move on.
Worth Living:
“ I heard that somebody died, and I am twice his age…”
At this point, he realizes the viciousness of life and surrenders himself to his fate.
Last Supper:
Here the joy of surrender sets him free from the burden of man’s quest for control. He realizes all he has to do is give himself and take the good and bad that comes with that. Self aware and aware of the nature of life, he rests his case.
“Play my song and sing along Remember everything I did for love…”
Any-Ha!
Much is left to be said about this album and its place in the culture but you’ll have to get your copy and get acquainted with the story first.
In the future, I will talk about the Marketing campaign around the EP which I found to be extensive and the standard many upcoming acts need to seek.
i’ll also want to comment on the production, the featured artist, and the label - all things that would have made this write up cumbersome.
Now, how to purchase the EP:
- Make a MobileMoney or OrangeMoney payment of 1,000 XAF to 677777303 - Use your email address as the reason for the transfer - Sit back and wait for your copy to be delivered via e-mail.
Better still, you can just call the number for direct/instant service.
Trust me, it is the worth more than a thousand francs.
I GUESS THAT MAKES TODAY EASTER SUNDAY.
- Tino Foy