{"id":495,"date":"2008-10-28T04:23:07","date_gmt":"2008-10-28T03:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/?p=495"},"modified":"2008-10-28T04:50:59","modified_gmt":"2008-10-28T03:50:59","slug":"yo-majestyfuturistically-speaking-never-be-afraidalbum-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/?p=495","title":{"rendered":"Yo Majesty\/Futuristically Speaking: Never Be Afraid…album review!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It only took about three decades, but finally some hip-hop artists are keeping it real<\/em> and coming out of the closet. Floridians Shunda K and Jwl B, aka Yo Majesty<\/em>, have been on the underground scene for the last 10 years. After releasing a grass roots, sex-filled rhyme EP in 2006 with potty mouth dance floor hit Club Action<\/em> that moved them into the same league as M.I.A., Santogold, and Amanda Blank, the lesbian kings of strip-down stage antics are back with ballsy debut album Futuristically Speaking: Never Be Afraid<\/em>, and it\u2019s the most talked about party cd of the year.
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\nProduced by UK electro duo Hard Feelings<\/em><\/strong>, YM\u2019s royal sound is a manic mix of hip-hop, party rap and electro. But unlike many of their contemporaries, this girl group is not all about selling tricks T&A. While not overtly political, YM maintains a kryptonite stance against the male chauvinistic Bones, Thugs N Harmony standard in hip-hop. Usually this entails Shunda and Jwl getting topless onstage, sending a message more about equality than sexuality. \u201cI got stretch marks, and I\u2019m fat, and I\u2019m wildin\u2019, says Jwl B. \u201cBut your boy 50 Cent does his show with his shirt off. Why can\u2019t I?\u201d It\u2019s this in-your-face bravado that makes Ym heroes for the disenfranchised that have lost their coochie crunk leaders in the rap game. Ever since the demise of MCs like Foxy Brown, Remy Ma, and Lil\u2019 Kim, the female rap scene has given way to more commercial pop acts like The Pussycat Dolls, Beyonc\u00e9, and Fergie. YM is rearranging the game with bass driven beats and jaw-dropping\u2019 lyrics that make the current pretty girl groups seem a bit pointless.<\/p>\n

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Futuristically Speaking: Never Be Afraid opens up with scream song Fucked Up<\/em>, initially sounding like a contrived mad Black woman anthem about hating on the men who leave them. Halfway through we realize it\u2019s about being in a relationship that you want to get out of, but can\u2019t. YM puts it simply, \u201cI can\u2019t stand the<\/strong> way you look, but I like the way you fuck me!\u201d<\/strong>– a realization we all can relate to when the one you\u2019re with ain\u2019t the perfect situation, but he\/she is good enough in the between time.<\/p>\n

On Don\u2019t Let Go<\/em>, one of the few chilled jams on the album, singer Jwl B\u2019s vocal range shines brilliantly. The lo-fi two-step tune is all about demanding respect…“Every time you turn around, a nigga callin\u2019 you a<\/strong> hoe<\/strong>…You never too young to demand respect. He\u2019ll treat you betta.\u201d If you\u2019re going to put yourself out there in a sexual context, it doesn\u2019t mean you deserve to be treated like crap. It\u2019s this message of self-empowerment that is firmly implanted in YM\u2019s lyrical content.<\/p>\n

In addition to the new version of Club Action<\/em>, YM\u2019s first hit single back in 2006, the best floor-filler tracks here are Basement Jaxx<\/em>\u2019s-produced Booty Klap<\/em>– a sonic speed, bass thumping burner that makes you want to follow along with the dance routine prompts (makes The Cha Cha Song<\/em> seem best-fitted for an old-folks home), and Party Hardy<\/em>– which is reminiscent of an Alpha Kappa Alpha at MSU step routine song…heavy, fun, and definitely no joke! \u201cYo Majesty is a new era of hip hop…instead of talking about negative stuff, we\u2019d rather talk about positive stuff. We\u2019d rather listen to a dance band than music that makes people want to kill themselves.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yo Majesty\u2019s sexual identity is just one part of the hype that put the slick southern charmers in the spotlight, but it\u2019s Shunda K\u2019s strong rhythmic skills, Jwl B\u2019s smooth vox, and their unyielding spirituality that will keep them around. This album is full of dirty raw emotion and lots of personal issues that are clearly still being worked through. And while they start their benevolent healing process, we\u2019ll be right there on the dance floor workin\u2019 it out with them!<\/p>\n

album out now!!!<\/em><\/p>\n

www.myspace.com\/yomajesty4life<\/a><\/p>\n

Paisley Dalton<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It only took about three decades, but finally some hip-hop artists are keeping it real and coming out of the closet. Floridians Shunda K and Jwl B, aka Yo Majesty, have been on the underground scene for the last 10 years. After releasing a grass roots, sex-filled rhyme EP in 2006 with potty mouth dance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeitgeistworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}