DJ Kurfu and Sintax the Terrific dropped their 'Prince With A Thousand Enemies' LP this week. The lyrics of the album were inspired by themes from Richard Adams' 'Watership Down' (which I have now begun to read). The album is out on Illect Recordings and can be bought from Sphere of Hip Hop and their Bandcamp page as well as all the usual places. Musically, conceptually and lyrically the album is brilliant. Here are some striking lyrics from a track called 'Blows':
He had no protest political statement
or bumper sticker campaign ticker entertainment no marketing plan or t-shirt design like, “Being Hebrew’s Heavenly but Jesus is Divine!” still they called in the troops, not to keep the peace but to kill the Prince of it, of a thousand enemies that gathered in the courtyard to cut Him to His calloused knees and pour upon His holy head the hate of human history but in that misery I know He caught the eye of Rome's lost boys now centurions despised “I made the beautiful cow from whose side came the rawhide strips from which your whips are tied the fingertips that slide into an uncertain grip like they know that it's the Maker of their narrow bones they hit I fashioned every implement of My demise be the timber that you cut into a cross to crucify Me ‘cause when you strike we share a sacred moment set free with every blow ’cause My blood is your atonement”
You come home from work, only to realise your work has only just begun. Welcome to Manhood."
I love this track. I'm not sure I've ever heard truer words spoken about fatherhood and manliness. This is something I've been thinking about a lot over the last couple of years as I've heard stories of irresponsible men who think that to be manly is to do what they feel like (i.e. leave their wives, kids, sleep around, go out, get drunk etc). The other reason I've been musing on this subject is that last August I became a father myself.
Being a man is not about resolving yourself of responsibility, it's about taking responsibility by the horns, running with it and realising that it's infinitely more fulfilling than selfishness.
“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’"
David tells his son to man up. What would this manliness look like? Finding out what God wants of him and then doing it - to the last letter! Why? So that he would prosper and so that God may keep his promise.
We too are to embrace manhood (by we, I mean 'we men') and to do this we must look at what God expects of a man and we must look at the examples of Godly men in the bible and Godly men in our lives. We should then reflect this in our own lives. Our lives are a part of God's plan and "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (plan).".
Big up to Josh and the guys at Illect Recordings for electing me winner of a little competition they did on their Facebook page. All I had to do was tell them my favourite release from their label (which was easy because I’d only just downloaded and listened to muzeONE’s excellent ‘Cold War’ LP) and they picked me to win some free tunes.
