One of music’s most enduring traits is the way it can transport us back to a different time and teach us a lesson in music history in the span of even one great song. For the talented music producer and socially aware lyricist J.Smo (of BUNKS), music is always a journey made with one respectful foot placed in the past, while the other one marches diligently into the future.
Releasing a video for the 90’s inspired and true old-school hip-hop sounding track “Banks Of Savannah X Endurance,” J.Smo showcases his natural ability to rap with the best of them. For many of todays modern hip-hop fans, the sheer talent found within every level of this song might be a bit lost. The new generation has been force fed a different type of hip-hop style.
This is not to say that what is out there now has no merit, it surely does, but what J.Smo has done is successfully remind us that hip-hop had a lush and creative history, and one that was not stuck in an ego-driven mindset intent on disrespecting women and celebrating being a delinquent for no reason. By today’s standards, what J.Smo has created here might be considered a lighter dose of hip-hop, but you would be wrong to think that.
“Banks Of Savannah X Endurance” is a powerful message woven into a track that uses scratches and samples to their most effective level. The power of this style of hip-hop is to be found in how it naturally raises the listener’s awareness, and that is, and always will be, the absolute core of why hip-hop is still such a musical juggernaut today.
The video for “Banks Of Savannah X Endurance” is both raw and honest. Filled with random imagery that is meant to inspire as much as unnerve. Although not a video relying on a Hollywood-sized budget, it benefits from the low-fi look, and in many ways is exactly what it needs to be. Take it from me when I say that this song and video are truly rooted in the real hip-hop, the hip-hop that started it all, and the hip-hop that always needs to be talked about.
J.Smo has regarded his music as the instrument to many of the interesting experiences in his life. From a small town in Tennessee to Brooklyn to New York to Sacramento; truly J.Smo cannot be accused of letting the grass grow beneath his feet.
Of course when it comes to J.Smo there is much more to talk about that one great song, so I will mention that he is currently putting the final touches on his new and highly-anticipated album called The Joshua Story.
In the inspired words of the refreshingly honest and respectable J.Smo “There’s no reason to slow down now…”
J.Smo can be found on his official site and Facebook.
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