Soul Food: A Music Review

I have a confession to make...I am a music junkie! I appreciate music of all kinds and I love sharing good music with others. A whole lot of hip hop, mixed with soul, black history, humor, and faith; Sho Baraka delivers a relevant collection of songs in The Narrative. These songs are sure to give you a different perspective, make you say “Yassss!”, and help you get your groove on. For those of you who do not know who Sho is, he’s one of the former members of Lecrae’s 116 clique. A few years ago, he ventured off on his own and explains this transition in Road to Humble. He is also an activist, refreshingly connecting Faith, the African-American experience, and social justice together. Sho opens The Narrative with Forward which gives listeners an introduction into his background and a snapshot into his perspective. An overarching theme in what he coveys is truth along with love over hate as he refers to himself as “Fredrick Douglass with a fade” on the second track Soul. He gives us something to chew on in Maybe Both in which he and James Portier discuss politics, social injustice, and faith. With this track, they raise the question if it is the ballot or the bullet that is killing our community. After listening to this song, I left thinking that it’s not all one or the other and maybe it is both. Most importantly I was encouraged to fight and pray for the injustices in our community. For me, one of the ways to engage in the fight is by having conversations with people who do not look like me so that life from our perspective can be heard more and hopefully understood. For the grown folks, he gives us a fun, edgy beat to groove to while being nostalgic and reminding us to have a good time in 30 &up. Sho and Jackie Hill Perry have something to say in their Kanye rant about the different nuances in our society, the black community, how black history is taught, and social media. In Father, he shares a letter-like track to fathers and his three children. To his sons he advises them to “pray without ceasing but keep your eyes on the system/always speak up for the weak until somebody listens/don’t marry her if you don’t plan to bury her/if you sweep her off her feet then learn how to carry her”. I have to say this was one of the places where I said “Yassss!”. To his daughter he writes “You’re beautiful I’ll always remind you, never let the culture’s idea of beauty define you/…Stay clothed in righteousness ‘cause that’s harder to undress/…I’m trying to raise the next Lena Horne, Fannie Lou Hamer, a lady who can bring reform” If only every young girl heard words like these from her dad…

Time and space wont’ let me tell you how much I love each of the 14 songs on The Narrative. I appreciate the balance that he brings in voicing the condition of our society with justice, faith, truth, and love. I agree with Sho that “I’m here for that! Love over hate, real over fake, truth and faith, beauty and grace”. I hope that you all get a chance to listen and enjoy all the songs on this release. Sho Baraka is on all social media outlets at amishobaraka, so feel free to follow him. If he comes to your city, check him out, and I guarantee you’ll have a good time.