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JazzHopRevolution: The Sound of Truth

by Rahman Jamaal

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1.
The Movement 02:05
The truth is useless without music. Jazz Hop Revolution, let's do this: What is a JazzHopRevolution? Elocution to get you used to movin' To smooth acoustic musical grooves Proven to move you through the illusion of usual views All aboard, last stop? Meta-fusion. The next evolution of music is fused in To let you choose when the music levels confusion Get it? This is the blueprint... Alright class, if you're gonna pass You gotta listen up fast Or you'll never learn lessons of the past, present and future That's why a Jazz Hop Revolution got produced: To juice ya. Get used to the sound downtown, it's underground-found You drown in so much bullshit you sit Listening to culprits on pulpits pull tricks over your eyes Like oversized wool-knits. Surprised? Talk to these guys, disguised Follow these wise-devised qualities ties When you realize that it's too great Growing up meant that you made mistakes That changed your fate, too late to take a second Look at what it was stressing Make money, money, take money honey, wait! Question great sex on a second date? Let's break, catch an 8:30 sesh and escape. What is a JazzHopRevolution? Elocution to get you used to movin' To smooth acoustic musical cues Proven to groove you through the illusion of usual views All aboard, last stop? Meta-fusion. The next evolution of music is fused in To let you choose when the music levels confusion, get it? This is The Movement.
2.
The Myth 04:20
Hype the masses, fight the fascists For anyone who likes to ask, wipe your glasses Hype the masses, fight the fascists For anyone who writes the past, wipe your glasses Hype the masses, fight the fascists For anyone who types to cast, wipe your glasses Imagine you had to fight to survive, but you got ass-kicked And died, while the guys who ass-kicked got to decide Why you're alive for your buddies to read it in class To study or stay back for a grade to pass because somebody Was afraid of asking a question that could come to threaten The part of the lesson that was gettin em paid minimum wage, I guess then you'd be a slave and behave accordingly To the story that explained why glory could never be yours to see. That's the story of history when there's still myths to be uncovered And unsolved mysteries to be discovered and understood Like how could you understand "good" if you're from the hood In a land that feeds hands from a can of garbage That would leave any man or small kid damn retarded? That's a mystery to unravel When you follow the false path of history everyone travels And you don't ask questions to find answers to test Cuz you can't even spell your chances in Hell, well That's a mystery to unravel When you follow the false path of history every gun battle. And you don't ask questions to find answers Because your chances in Hell are tampered with, can't you tell? That's a mystery to unravel when you follow the false path of history Everyone travels.
3.
Nature 03:15
Human nature explained Is nature sustained When human nature sustained Is nature explained. Every organism of nature interconnected Just like every element of the music we're making Has an effect on individuals Who can listen and dance, to the rhythm enhanced By the lyrical wisdom advanced Is it a miracle or is it just metaphysical? We may never know, as long as the definitions are heavy So lemme know if the musical feeling is mutual as much as intellectual When it's measure for measure to measure the pleasure heard When putting together words, spreading together to sound... ...whatever's clever. The truth is you don't need many words to be heard When music says the same thing and strings swing You can sing with the birds. Now I don't know about you But I know when I close my eyes and visualize size I'm about as low as my shoe But when I can flow with my crew I get high As a red-eye jet flies in a sunset sky And you'll notice I do feed off the energy By letting the synergy of percussion and bass Replace memory til I can fell the chemistry alter me Down to the last molecule, Til I'm water cool.
4.
Fear 04:53
Knock, knock, who's there? Do you feel that funky feeling you call fear? Is it what we're here to swallow or did it just follow you here? Like weird monster that appeared in the rearview mirror When you couldn't see clear, oh dear Open up or it won't disappear for another year Did you hear? It's fear! Really here not make-believe He's in every way of the way you feel And there isn't any way you can make me leave I'm the reason people hate to see folks eat the whole piece of cake And leave old plates of people's mistakes To make a meal of their missed takes, and I'm outside And about 5 times bigger than the size of house, why How sly like cat waiting patient to pounce And catch a mouse like a housefly Now try calling for help, never mind I own the whole block Call-in yourself, your home alone locked who's got the key? Me. You're shocked this is robbery, ha. You treat me like I wouldn't Speak to me like I shouldn't If I did, why should I believe you like I couldn't? I don't know what you're so afraid of I don't know where you stole your data All I know is I never told you to stay up Go home I'll call you later Are you scared of dying? Are you scared of flying? Are you scared of trying and getting caught lying? Why? Are you scared of crying? Are you scared of getting hurt fighting because you hate the pain? Are you scared of things that are made to change or that stay the same? Is the fear of taking risks like speaking in public Or teaching a subject you hate to kids like freaking on a drug trip? Does it even have an effect? Is the subject making you feel upset If it is good, it should I wouldn't want you to read through subtext just yet. You treat me like I wouldn't Speak to me like I shouldn't If I did, why should I believe you like I couldn't? I don't know what you're so afraid of I don't know where you stole your data All I know is I never told you to stay up Go home I'll call you later Next time you can't see clear and you wonder why you're here Every reason that you had disappears and leads back to fear Fear of change, fear of being estranged, fear of feeling Rearranged like you failed to fight the fear of succeeding Take a look at what you're reading, it's like the number's planned Fear, terror, greed, hate, that's all we can understand Cuz you lost the year you learned you would never be young again With time facing Alice chasing rabbits through Wonderland Til you didn't know which was more real: Love or the absence of What you knew could be true if you knew what the password was But you never learn that in school, all you learn is trapped in rules That's why mom and dad want to seem cool but they can't Cuz they fear when you act a fool They treat you like you shouldn't Speak to you like you couldn't Since you did, I've survived, believe me like I wouldn't? I don't know what they're so afraid of I don't know where they stole their data All I know is I never told you to stay up go home I'll call you later All I know isI never told you to stay up go home I'll call you later... I never told you to stay up go home I'll call you later...
5.
Money 02:50
Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Got the money good don't forget how to spend the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Got the money good don't forget how to spend the money First get a job doing what you hate, gotta get the money Then you're better off losing what you make, gotta spend the money On a home, pay rent, food, bills God I hate the money Not enough to enjoy life gotta keep it coming Save up, go to school, take a class gotta get the cash Pay up, know the rules, do the task gotta make it fast Pick the pace up, say what? Wanna make it last? Doesn't matter even if you hate the teacher start at kissing ass If you're not an athlete, or hit the streets using what you know Sell blow, pimp hoes, make music, hustle & flow You can tell the world you don't give a f*ck how to get the dough When the po-po knock on the door they already know That you have the right to remain silent drop an extra charge If you don't eat you starve off the second job Money won't get you off in the yard from behind bars What the hell was you thinking little dog you was never hard Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Got the money good don't forget how to spend the money You can spend the money on anything you want, what is it you love? Sex, drugs, rock n' roll, how bout givin' up to your blood Taking care of family can be insanity because All of us in humanity have the vanity to judge one another Under cover if you really love her let her go Get the money on her own from a tree gotta let her grow If she comes back better than before it oughta let you know In the meantime, don't let it throw you off because we all Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Got the money good don't forget how to spend the money If you're lucky and you got money, good, gotta get a honey If you're ugly and you're not funny, bad, gotta spend the money On shoes and a few jewels so you're not looking bummy With enough left over to put food in the tummy Get the money when you're hungry buy cheap even if it's not healthy Every week lose sleep, still because you're not wealthy If you can't feed yourself, well, hell, you can't feed anybody else G. That's why you gotta get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Get the money, get the money, gotta get, gotta get the money Got the money good now don't forget.
6.
Life 03:42
Wounds heal, scars may stay I'm finally real this beautiful day In resonance with what I feel I can say The world is ready to heal, so let's play The truth is my meal the season is May I'ma mark this revolution with my seal As we rise like flowers out of clay. Coming are times more electric than an eel Judgment Day is near but I'm here to stay May I suggest that in life you follow your heart Or in strife you'll just be blindly throwing darts Like a knife this planet has left you cut Like a G from an Oz. You don't remember what's true A society of one has left no clue to the answers that are deep within you. Listen close and they'll seep through Understanding means no more wondering Done with overthinking you'll start to do The fire just lit in the chimney so new. Do you see purpose in getting to the mystical promised land of blue? The same you search for in an invisible Heaven you thought ou knew? Come reality undeniable like a blaze you are in a haze Both just in need of someone to open the flu Eye of your heart once unrestrained in tie to undo You've got the gun to shoot the one and lay to waste that maze Point...all but moot. Wake up. Square up And face this new phase phrased in a view. Fear the greatest illusion of our time Alone it's the biggest resolution for crime Like a bone buried in the foundation of your mind The finest lie to which our delusions and reasoning bind Not one more harmful deception one may find Remember, it's a hallucination and you're one of a kind Just the impression of an unscalable wall one must climb To come to the realization that it's but slime, mere temptation To the imagination in a cosmos truly free of grie Trust yourself, forget expectation and all will be fine. Wounds heal, scars may stay I'm finally real this beautiful day In resonance with what I feel I can say The world is ready to heal, so let's play The truth is my meal the season is May I'ma mark this revolution with my seal As we rise like flowers out of clay. Coming are times more electric than an eel Judgment Day is near but we're here to stay Problems the very angst of existence Non-existent they become with patience Leaving way for only new challenges as credence Where frustration once reigned, fun now takes over the cadence Trying times at worst educative, hence All those who seek peace should hop the fence New positive outlook recommended at every petulance Status quo equating the Great One with malevolence Take strength in difficulty and replace annoyance You'll be left with nothing but reminiscence As trepidation is ended as a lesson, by this sentence.
7.
Spirit 07:36
Don't blink, just move Bring everything all up within you It's already in us, we're already in view We're already in trust to always continue Don't think, must groove Close your eyes step out of your club shoes Love is around you, in and above you Nothing can ground you, no one can judge you Let yourself go Better yet let yourself go with the flow Feel the beat from the ground through your toes Travel up to your crown from way down below Nothing has changed much since times were tribal Struggle's the same just humankind survival Trouble and pain's all part of the cycle Love is a game we should all find delightful Listen to the sound, step to the rhythm Get down to the ground and sweat, cue the vision Everything is one on a quest for true livin' When you dance under the sun after the moon's risen Map the indigenous knowledge of our wisdom On tracks to be written and follow the star systems Musical chambers were telling our ancestors Human language developed from hand gestures Just like the knowledge that frees human spirits The upright symbolically speaks using the lyric Much like the heart of the beat movin you near it May teach musical secrets the sooner you hear it.
8.
Dance 03:47
9.
Da Truth 04:16
Truth is within you when you can choose to find it Youth will continue to chime in rhyming it's all in the timing Sublime and open-minded, I'm blinded Reminded of what's been forgotten shining like a diamond With so many facets shaping who we are in alignment With the stars from afar solar warming our jar of experimentation Creation wearing an apron with observation adjacent To thought placement lost in the population Patience in blood, hate and war, what are we waiting for? God is taking score, not to tell us who's winning Sinning or thinning, underpinnings knowing truth is just the beginning Wheels are spinning, thinking and feeling Pen inkings are healing and linking congealing everything in revealing What you knew was already was true but never knew to express Who's to impress but the God of You in the flesh, yes Help has arrived, recognize the prize And keep your eyes on the skies, wise-guys, Universalize. Dive from the high-rise, die and come back life-size. Fear's an illusion, steering confusion hearing the music In time and space we're near to solutions Boostin the climbing human race up the face of the mountain Chasing eruptions spouting off the top gushing like a fountain Good luck in counting measures We're just as bound in structures and systems... Tell 'em John, testify. You hear that? You fear that? Get near that. We're back. I think that pretty much said it all.
10.
Da Phunk 03:12
Jazz. Hop. Revolution With a bit of W-funk infusion Who got a problem with it? Call in to Houston, we're defiant Defining the genre's used When you can label it whatever you want, it's music I'll say it again black, this is the blueprint Jazz Hop, never stupid Got a little bit of W-funk amusement If you gotta problem with it, call into Houston We can define the lines and genre's usage Can say what it is how you want to choose, kid Just play it again, Jack. This is the movement. Transcend the illusion that everything On the planet that exists isn't part of the same thing A part of the same consciousness of experience Coming into the world as far as the brain thinks And every human being is part of the same dream Where God is strange thing evolving and changing. Man's end to confusion is the blueprint Of universal law at the heart of the mainstream Where right and wrong isn't always as plain seen As a war being fought that's not entertaining But still funner to watch than politicians explaining How they understand the pain that all of these games bring Jazz. Hop. Revolution With a bit of W-funk infusion If you got a problem with it? Call in to Houston, we're defiant Defining the genre's used When you can label it whatever you want, it's music I'll say it again black, this is the blueprint Jazz Hop, never stupid Got a little bit of W-funk amusement If you gotta problem with it, call into Houston We can define the lines and genre's usage Can say what it is how you want to choose, kid Just play it again, Jack.

about

If "The Beat Soundtrack" represents the prelude to Rahman Jamaal's artistic journey, "JazzHopRevolution" would be the first movement. After "The Beat" premiered at the Sundance Festival in 2003, it had an international run on television through STARZ, Encore, Showtime and Cinemax between the years of 2005 - 2012.

In 2006, John Lindberg, a prolific jazz bass-composer from New York, was having a debate with his son, Raphael. John, a staunch jazz conservative, was arguing that jazz was the highest form of music and Hip Hop by comparison had no redeeming musical qualities. Raphael was trying to convince his dad that rappers like Tupac and others were artists in their own right when they stumbled across "The Beat" playing on television.

John defied his son to show him any artistic merits in the Hip Hop urban film they were about to watch, and when the scene featuring the song "This Isn't Art" concluded, Lindberg was floored. He immediately contacted Rahman and proposed that they collaborate on an album together. When Jamaal received John's email, he accepted the offer to write a thematic concept album that would feature lyrics over odd-metered rhythmic grooves and time signatures.

Several phone conversations concluded that both Lindberg and Jamaal shared overlapping philosophies about the power of music and the nature of truth. The composition of the album consisted of Lindberg sending rough recordings of the grooves that were titled with a theme for each song, and Jamaal composed the lyrics to match the topic and music. "JazzHopRevolution: The Sound of Truth" is the resulting collaboration between composer-bassist John Lindberg, lyricist Rahman Jamaal and percussionist Tani Tabbal.

The album was produced in upstate New York in the style of a jazz recording with each composition performed live by the trio in one or two takes. This meant there was no overdubbing or chopped overlays of tracks the way rap albums are commonly produced.

JazzHopRevolution is a genre-merging project that is more rap than spoken word and more jazz than Hip Hop, with high-concept rhymes that are more exquisite than explicit. The trio took this project to Pace University as well as for a tour in Istanbul, Turkey, where they performed at the 2010 ISCMS Jazz Festival with a host of local and international jazz musicians.

credits

released November 11, 2007

John Lindberg, acoustic bass
Rahman Jamaal, vocals/lyrics
Tani Tabbal, drums/percussion

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Rahman Jamaal Redwood City, California

In the year 6245, a cinematic experiment creates an alternate timeline through a creative vessel for the purpose of translating 5th dimensional reality to 21st century language. This is the encoded frequency of that experience.

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