Brooklyn, NY Emcee Ja'king the Divine reunites a year and a half after his 3rd album Parables of the Sower with his 5th EP. Featured on his first 3 EPs Growing Pains as well as The Marvelous R7ght Wrist & Pray for New Yorkhis last Painting chips came in April 2021 and released his full-length debut Delusions of grandeur 4 months later. The sophomore effort: Black Sun Tzu the following summer he would receive significant recognition giving him wider underground exposure, raising the stakes for Children of the despised.
“Minstrel Show” is a funky, boom bam that talks about that shit being as different as it gets, while “Negro Spiritual” continues the soul sampling with kicks and snares that refuse to lose or let up. “Aim at the Embassy” gives off a more stretched vibe, saying he'll embarrass the American flag for the sole purpose of drowning a skinhead, and “A Shape of Things to Come” jumps over another soul sample that speaks of change on the rise .
Moving on from there, “Idiom” warns over strings that he'll behead anyone who moderates with his crown, while “Public Enemy” strips the drums completely, talking about hitting the drums with a death note and warning that he'll sign treaties to blow your whole neighborhood. “Ward of the State” soulfully warns that we're nearing the end, while “Bambi Redd” jazzily shows how the word made a powerful man. After the break of 'Youngnturnt', 'Killer's of the Flower Moon' ends with a flute questioning what an artist is without a torch or a soul.
Children of the despised contrary to Operation: Black Sun Tzu speaks directly to the black diaspora and angst among youth culture in America. He details some of his own struggles with love, trust, alienation, self-deprivation, discipline, addiction, disillusionment with our culture, and an unwavering will to carry on the burden of the world as a black man with trauma in a caustic society backed by production that balances boom bap and drumless, including samples of jazz and soul music.
Rating: 8/10
