The music that sticks with you, is able to fight off today’s music availability overload, and thus holds some special meaning, typically earns that role because it played a part in helping you get through a difficult time in your life. The lyrics in the songs mimic the sentiments and events that are going on in your life, and the music nearly acts as a medicine. When I received Blue Scholars in the mail to review, I was going through some testing times. At first, the album review was just another addition to the enormous list of to-dos. And then I put the album in.

It’s been four years since Blue Scholars’ last LP, Blue Scholars. And in those same four years, our country has been going through the stresses and anxieties that have come with the controversy of the Iraq War. Hailing from Seattle, WA, emcee Geologic and producer Sabzi have given us a political position piece, entitled Bayani, which expresses their frustrations with today’s situations. The album is a reflection of what’s going on around us, and was created for the people, as evidenced by the title Bayani, which translates from Geologic’s Filipino language of Tagalog as “heroes (of the people)” and in Sabzi’s Farsi language as “the divine word.”

Both artists have grown musically and have also developed a new level of maturity with this album. Geologic has turned himself from an average emcee, one that is typically labeled as a monotonous rapper, and completely renovated himself to an emotional and passionate freedom fighter on the mic. Geo touches on subjects that we all can relate to, and what an early adult like me is going through. The frustrations with our government leadership and the situation in the Middle East are addressed on Back Home, where the Scholars call for the return of our American soldiers. 50 Thousand Deep is Geologic’s first-person account of the controversial WTO protests that took place in Seattle in 1999.

If you’re in your late twenties or thirties, you’re likely to find a song that touches on your own emotional struggles. For me, Ordinary Guys struck a nerve. Over Sabzi’s piano composition, Geologic talks about the stresses of making financial ends meet, as he rocks “with a hole in a third of his socks,” and despite the hard times, still works toward his dreams, and ultimately reaches the great feeling when he “finally got a comma in my check account balance.”

Morning For America is a fun excursion of reminiscence for late 70’s or early 80’s babies. Still Got Love once again shows Geo’s maturity, as he strives to address confrontations in an adult manner. He says:

Did you volunteer secrets, did you snitch out your people,
To get cool with some fools that we used to have beef some with,
And he said that she said that they went and did somebody dirt,
And you heard it and now you’re no longer friends,
I don’t operate on that sort of level,
I’m face to face,
No fake Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal types of handshakes.

My emphasis so far has been on Geologic’s lyrical contribution, but Sabzi’s production has also reached a new height. The jazz-saturated sounds are simply brilliant, and they are an integral part of the passion and furor of this album. His own highlights include Loyalty, the piano-flavored Back Home, and…oh forget it, there’s too many to mention. The sounds from the entire album are reminiscent of the greats Pete Rock and J Dilla, but Sabzi is also able to maintain his own originality and creates his own distinctive sound.

The album is a complete reverberation of the social, personal, and political emotions that a lot of people are going through. It is truly for the people. From personal financial issues to global concerns, the lyrics delivered by Blue Scholars on Bayani did not add to my feeling of being overwhelmed, but provided a much-needed outlet for me to vent my frustrations and anger, and gave me motivation to maintain through the difficult period. The album will go down as a classic to me, and I’m sure it will for a lot of others who have similar situations and attitudes.