This Is Book's Music

In 1990, it eemed there was an unspoken uncertainty in hip-hop, which seemed to coincide with the uncertainty of what was going on socially and politically in the United States. 20 years later, the song remains the same. Twenty years from now, if one wanted to know what was going on socially and politically in the United States and the world, and what people were concerned about, I would point them to Corroded Utopia by Eastern Sunz.

This album was released earlier in the year, but wasn’t able to get to it until now. However, the lyrics perfectly describe the concerned times we live in. The opening track, “Treadmill Of Production”, explains clearly the urgency many people are feeling, on why a lot of people are loving the abundance of crap being fed to them when there are serious things to be concerned about, away from the boob tube and the boob earbuds. In “Run”, they may simplify themselves by saying that they want to bust on people Captain Caveman style, but there’s something in those words. About 12 years ago, hip-hop seemed to be paranoid about the forthcoming illuminati, and while it’s not the end of the world, it’s hard to tell a younger generation that things are going to be okay when they are being exposed to more sadness and hatred than we were at that age. Perhaps we elders can pass this album along and say “there’s good and positivity, everything is not a reality show, but I can show you the good and bad of actual reality”.

In other words, Eastern Sunz are realists, they tell you how it is. I hate wanting to use the term “street poets” because someone is going to come in and say “those guys ain’t hood” or “what do they know about the streets?” but there’s a term, “hitting the pavement”. It means to put yourself in action, to put one step forward and do. Corroded Utopia is the first step into a world that, to adults, may feel like it’s falling apart but the journey on this album is to find balance and hope in the muck. “Up In Flames”, “Begging For Change”, and “Burying Myself Alive” should be a good indication of what these guys are touching on, and with lyrics such as “I know it’s been said that I’m preaching to the choir/Half man, half gas can, I’m trying to light a fire/I’m trying to expire the exposure of these liars/Or reason for treason in the dreams of freedom fighters” (mixed in with an appropriate sample that goes back to the concerns of people in the Vietnam War era), it’s not mere sloganeering, it’s an eager statement for change.

Eastern Sunz have not stopped being conscious or making music that becomes a collective consciousness, and it’s an album that easily ranks among the best hip-hop that looks to unify with the people of the world who simply seek better. While music alone may not change the world, it is through inspiring music like this that will help people to plant the seeds towards a more nurtured human garden.