PSA (that I stole from Daw): Sign petitions, donate, and if you’re able to, march. Action in the face of an oppressive system is a moral and civic responsibility, and this should never be taken lightly. If you are looking for ways to get involved, here is an action card from Black Lives Matter that is extremely comprehensive: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#
Here’s the album, please buy it and support Naeem:
First of all, after bumping the well-balanced and uniquely thoughtful Startisha all day I have just learned that NAEEM IS SPANK ROCK. I had no idea, same person. I’ll drop my favorite Spank Rock track in a minute. Also shout out to Beth Rest for bringing this album to my attention in the process of co-blogging on the new Gayngs track which is coming out soon.
But let’s dive into Startisha. Naeem literally lives with Bon Iver at his Minnesota recording studio, and the album took half a decade to complete. I stole that info from this Spotify blurb that I’m basically paraphrasing so here it is for full details:
Why would I try to summarize that am I right? (besides for the fact that it’s like my job). Anyways there are no misses on this 9 song album, all hitters. Literally the whole thing is excellent, but I’ll highlight a few of my favorites here.
‘Simulation (feat. Swamp Dogg, Justin Vernon)’
Swamp Dogg graced us with an album of the year candidate already this year, and then there is another feature I’ve never heard of named Justin Vernon.
This song is both a vibe and an anthem and I am here for it.
‘Woo Woo Woo (feat. Amanda Black, Micah James)’
These bars tho… Regular collaborators Amanda Blank (who just released an awesome new track ‘Oh Man’) and Micah James come together for a wild cypher here.
‘Startisha’
This is so gorgeous, I seriously love this track so much. It’s got a relaxing familiarity about it that allows me to sit back and take a deep breath while also being stimulated mentally.
This album as a whole, through and through, is a triumph.
And without further ado, my favorite Spank Rock song, the music video for which used to give me nightmares in college:
And here’s another for the road: