I became obsessed with
Black Habits immediately after a full listen. There is a constant expression of gratitude throughout the entire album. Lyrically and sonically, it illustrates all sides of the Black experience beautifully. D Smoke's bilingual flow is much appreciated. Oh to be young, gifted, and Black. It was only right to review D Smoke’s “Black Habits” as we close out of Black History Month. Let’s continue to celebrate US for the rest of the year and thereafter.
See Highlighted Tracks Below:
The Black Family Dynamic
Morning Prayer : This is an interlude of a mother praying with her children before sending them off to school. There is always someone plotting against you for whatever reason and the main action our parents take is to prepare us to deal with a world that was set up against us from day one. Our parents were taught to survive and its only by [Black] habit, they pass on that knowledge.
Be confident, be aware of your surroundings, and stay prayed up.
Like My Daddy : where his source of inspiration derives | Breaking the cycle of abandonment -
I got chills listening to this song and D Smoke’s father express the responsibility he had as a father and a husband. Instead of allowing his ego to get in the way, he chose to stay home and allow their mom to pursue her career in music, which ended up a success story. This song summed up their family as a unit. As well as The importance of positive role models, while not being afraid to sacrifice. I appreciated him expressing the love/appreciation for his father even when he was away from them. After we become a certain age, we realize that at the end of the day, our parents are only human.
Relationships
Fallin : “Homies in the hood thought “Study Abroad” meant anatomy. Like introducing your world to the lower half of me.” Speaks of a young love and learning love on an intimate level. It puts me in the mind of “Sunshine" by Lupe — one of my favorite hip hop love songs with straight bars.
Real Body ft. Ari Lennox : An ode to Normal Bodies — The appreciation of a woman’s body and its imperfections. Social media can give the blues to the most secure woman. We see build-a-bodies every minute we scroll, to the point men are forgetting what we actually look like before the knife. This song was refreshing and a reminder that we are sexy in our skin as is —moles, cellulite and all. The bilingual touch was a plus.
Spirituality | Self-awareness
Top of the Morning : This has such a West Coast sound and it is becoming one of my favorite tracks on the album. The saxophone is so playa on the instrumental. Not only that, he spits straight facts. I feel D Smoke knows his purpose in hip hop.
Black Habits I & II : Both songs capture the Black experience. “Haters mad. They got Black malice, ‘cause I’m bound to retreat in a Black palace. We got Black habits.” He paints a story for every side of us. How we treat black businesses; How we value the Black dollar. The Black Church. Black Family Dysfunction. And many more all in the simplest terms.
