Morale /məˈral/: the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person. Thabo Malefan, commonly referred to Morale, is an influentially awarding winning Hip-Hop artist for Soweto, South Africa. He started where most successful rap artist begin, producing a series of mixtapes. He was awarded best mixtape by Hype Magazine, the leading Hip-Hop magazine source in South Africa, for “Rising Son”. His second album won a 2011 Metro FM award in the category best collaboration with his first hit single Ayaamah ft Zola. This was only the start, he found his independent record label Neo Shanty and is the acting CEO.
With my doubt in one’s mind Morale lives up to his name by rapping in poetic styles as well as expressing himself intensely full of passion and emotions. He is a vivid song writer and is known for his unorthodox flows as he raps about relatable content such as life stories, dreams, and money. His influences range from the group Wu Tang, Mischief, and the Black Eye Peas.
The song that we are going to look at today is “Black Diamond”. It was release alongside 11 other tracks on the album Smile, Clap, Bow February 1st, 2013. “Black Diamond” takes the listener on a ride with what we can assume is a young man who wants a life style that he cannot afford and in return causes him to lose everything. Everything is inclusive to the materialistic items such as eight cars, clothes that were cut from different cloth, and even girls but certainly does not exclude the loss of himself and as a being. The young man was so consumed with having the latest and the greatest that he did not spend his money wisely.
Side Note: I do encourage one to go listen to “Black Diamond” the intro beat definitely is booming and the song is amazing.
Lyrics ~ http://www.salyrix.co.za/song.aspx?77316931.5061
Song ~ https://youtu.be/LPYChtXHmyI