Krukid really came through with this album. He put in his heart and soul into his songs and their content. I was very moved and impressed with most of the songs on this album. I could tell that his message and style had matured and that there was a general theme to the entire album. This was very different from his first album “Raisin in the Sun” where, to me, he seemed to just throw a lot of ideas together, not necessarily into a mess, but made it an outlet for his excitement from success. HE mentions Uganda and his roots more in this album, which was really interesting to hear. Starting off, his first song “African” uses some of another language. He literally just names off African countries, but as he does this he ties himself to each, saying he is each country and at the same time is African-American. I thought it was pretty powerful and really relayed his home pride. Krukid definitely enjoys rapping about women, but it’s not so much about tearing them down as it is appreciating them and his excitement of what he is able to do with them. I find it pretty entertaining to hear how much he looks forward to this. Krukid also talks about his experience in the city life. These two topics both reveal what he finds most rewarding about his immigration experience, along with his success. He works 24/7, spitting out tracks to make money and keep his dream alive, and has gotten, in return, play time. He doesn’t talk about the benefits in an immature way however, more as a matter-of-fact way and that he appreciates it.
The most powerful song on this album was “Invisible”. Here Krukid talks about the horrors of his country and the fact that so many people turn their eyes away from the obvious events of kids becoming killing machines, and brutal genocides. As he rapped, he did so in first person, showing how much the violence affects him and his country. His message seemed angry that the goings-ons weren’t being seen or aided, and that he, hypothetically as a child soldier, was left on his own to kill his own family and be able to live a life after. This song and “City Life” were the main two that discussed social and political topics. It’s interesting because each is coming from a different part of the world; the social results of becoming an African-American hip hop artist, and the social and political aspects of warfare in his country.
Something I’ve noticed about Krukid is that he likes to build himself up, or is constantly trying to reassure the audience that he’s a rapper. This could be part of the status aspect of hip hop, but it gets a little annoying to hear that repeated. He should let his art speak for itself and let the listeners take what they can about the type of artists he is.
In the song “Real Talk”, Krukid has an interesting line that says something about even though he’s behind a steel mic, he’s still real. This song shows that he’s probably met some resistance and negative feedback from long time friends or others close to him. Sometimes, fame brings a lot of consequences, one of which can be to lose who you really are, but with Krukid recognizing that this could happen yet he is still staying true to himself, does show that that’s how he intends to be forever. He is not trying to sell out his style or words for another life.