As a great many in the world prepare to commemorate Jesus in observation of Lent, an East/West musical collaboration seeks to use common language between Abrahamic traditions to diffuse conflict and build bridges between traditions that have been at odds since before the Crusades.
Shabazz the Disciple of the Sunz of Man brings his knowledge of the Bible and Professor A.L.I. adds his dose of Islam inspired lyrics to create an intersection of common understanding in the persona of Jesus and the text known throughout the world as the Bible. The song entitled "Basic Instructions" is the second leak off of Professor A.L.I.'s album "Emerald Manifesto" and delivers on its promise with deep lyrics that throw the listener back into the early 1990's classic Hip-Hop scene. At a time where “Crusader speak” still dominates how we interact with the Middle East, both Shabazz and the Professor tackle religion from a vantage point of building bridges and thereby fostering true connections. It is wisdom communicated via the language of Hip-Hop.
Jimi Hendrix once said that “knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” We live at a time where the whole world seems polarized in a black and white construct replete with new age good guy “cowboys” and the dark skinned bad guys, or “Injuns”. More than any other time in history we need dialogue, but most leaders speak these days with hands over their ears, never listening what the “other” side has to say. People claim to have knowledge, what the world seems to need more than anything else is wisdom. Wisdom to prevent wars and genocides from occurring unnoticed by mass media, wisdom to stop discrimination of all forms, and wisdom to help us to learn to cultivate and care for our environment and ecology.
Speaking to this need Bay Area based South Asian-American Hip-Hop artist, Professor A.L.I. follows up his first eco-themed solo album Carbon Cycle Diaries, with his sophomoric debut Emerald Manifesto. A community sponsored and supported album it has been penned for a May 12th release. In advance of this album the Professor has leaked a few songs (including Basic Instructions) speaking the black and white world we live in, in an attempt to find common ground. The first leak “Metaphysics” in the Boom-Bap style of Hip-Hop, is a song which delves into the minds of philosophers Aquinas, Aristotle, and Descartes at the intersection of science and faith, exploring their mathematical proofs for the divine--in that process it also explores the commonalities of these two often polarized vantage points in relation to the question of a Higher Power.
Shabazz The Disciple & Professor A.L.I. working together
By Rapstation Editor for RAPstation.com — 03/11/2012
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