Blue Scholars – Bayani

    The
    West Coast has a long list of representatives, but many view throwing up the
    ‘W’ as a distinctly-Californian phenomenon. Proudly waving the flag for the
    less-renowned Northwest, Seattle duo Blue Scholars are bringing some
    much-needed shine to the rain-soaked streets that they call home. In 2004,
    Blue Scholars
    emerged from the birthplace of grunge music with a jazzy and
    progressive self-titled debut. With the release of Bayani, their more
    ambitious and advanced sophomore effort, emcee Geologic and producer Sabzi
    are once again calling attention to the left-coast’s northern sector.

    Bayani exhibits vibrant Hip Hop
    drawn from the Blue Scholars‘ hometown and colored by the pressing
    influence of their heritage. Both members have immigrant parents — Geologic‘s
    Filipino, Sabzi‘s Iranian — and those ethnic ties remain strong. In
    fact, Bayani is a tribute to worldly sounds, working-class empowerment
    and post-colonial plight. It relays downtrodden sensibilities through refined
    and noble channels. Over the electronic hum of “Opening Salvo,” Geologic
    sends a dedication to his Third World kin by rhyming, “Now this here’s for
    those who chose fights whose fruits might never not ripen until after their
    life.”

    Expressing empathy with oppressed
    people is a constant theme of Bayani, both lyrically and musically. From
    the protest cry of “50,000 Deep”
    to the title track’s wrenching instruments, the album plays as a continuous
    song of struggle. Common once rapped that “if revolution had a movie, I’d be theme music.” Well, Sabzi‘s
    keen use of dynamic melodies and drums could serve as a fitting soundtrack to
    the sequel. His bass-brimming rhythms and soul-strumming music set an exotic,
    highly-emotional tone on several songs. “Loyalty”
    benefits from a lush mix of vocoder effects, harmonic singing, fragile piano
    keys and reverberating drums. Geologic pens the script to another
    rich-sounding epic on “Fire For the
    People.” The emcee’s relaxed but compelling delivery flourishes
    over the upbeat musical backing. Ambient sounds come and go at opportune
    points, allowing him to rap, “No flagwavin’, celebratin’ your invasion/You
    call it Thanksgiving, we call it things taken.”

    Geologic‘s emotive lyrics and Sabzi‘s
    lavish compositions form a clever team. Their musical pick-and-roll proves to
    be a winning act on the slow-moving “The
    Distance.” Similar results occur on “Back Home,” which features Geo condemning the Iraq War
    and commenting, “Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy is looking like the street
    we named after him.”
    This natural chemistry between lyricist and beatsmith
    rarely falters. Aside from the uneventful “Ordinary Guys,” a track that is a bit too serene, the Scholars
    mostly deliver quality results on all fronts. The duo brings classic
    blue-collar ethics, spiked with a proud Third World slant, and combines them
    with the intelligence supposedly reserved for a white-collar education.

    Blue Scholars fashion themselves as
    champions of the disadvantaged, and this album is an apt platform to prove that
    point. According to the group, the word “bayani” means both “heroes of the
    people” in Tagalog (Filipino) and “the word” in Farsi. Regardless of the
    language spoken, Bayani is a collection sure to speak to anyone in
    search of music with substance.

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