M.E.D. – Where I’m From feat. Aloe Blacc
M.E.D.’s album Classic has been out for a minute, but I’d been so busy that I hadn’t taken full account of it until recently. It’s one of several very sharp Hip-Hop releases to have come out here in the fall, after a long summer without many quality releases. Classic is M.E.D.’s long awaited second full length record, coming after his long awaited debut Push Comes To Shove came out in 2005. Featuring guest work from Talib Kweli, Aloe Blacc, Planet Asia & Kurupt and production from Madlib, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Karriem Riggins, Classic is at it’s best when M.E.D. and Co. showcase great talent and maturity on “War & Love,” “Too Late,” the title track (with Kweli) and my chosen track, “Where I’m From,” a new anthem for California love.
Even more impressive is “Blaxican” M.E.D.’s call to action and an ode to Black & Brown unity with stellar production from Madlib (with an assist from Joe Bataan’s Mestizo). As much as I dig the song itself, the video is even better. Put together by Mochilla’s Coleman and B+ the video expands on the themes of the song by presenting Los Angeles as a place of great beauty and pride, just through the simple representations of its Black, Brown and Mixed inhabitants. Videos and songs like this need to be recognized for what they are…true art.