Decisions, decisions, good intentions behind said decisions, but that isn’t always the outcome. However, there’s hope towards the end of the long-awaited sequel to “Poor Decisions, Good Intentions,” Duvin & Khali’s chemistry is fiery as ever, evoking a lot of different emotions, hard truths, introspection, vulnerability wrapped up in this moody & melancholy masterpiece, so let’s take a deep dive into what Khali & Duvin are telling us with this new record.

“Tarabully”

Before you know it, the consequences of your actions are knocking you to the floor, they waste no time in letting you know they’re here, Duvin forcing the listener into submission & then crushing the world as they know it around them, it’s the castle in the sky debris falling from dark clouds as Khali details the rough & gritty path to where & who he is today, there’s nothing pretty about it but he soldiers on, eager & determined to see what lies on the other side, perhaps much greener grass rather than these rough patches & while Khali is not necessarily proud of his “poor decisions,” the “good intentions” are there, as he is more than willing to put in the work & effort into growing from those mistakes, he’s on a new path now & it’s still a war zone surrounding him. Still, he marches on, urging you to take a stand for something or fall for nothing.

“Vital”

We just put our life into these records in hopes that someone will listen, so Khali points out here that of course, every artist is self-absorbed, all we want out of this is to be heard, all the other byproducts that come with it are beside the point of it all, it’s the acknowledgment & the respect that every artist craves or at least every artist should be chasing that feeling if they’re gonna decide to chase anything.

Khali knows that as long as he understands the importance of the art, how vital it is as a whole, not just to his life & he puts his all into it & in doing so, knows it’s gonna pay off, all the byproducts will begin to come his way, the fruits of his labor rather than being in another penniless position, he’s far past that but even now that he’s in a better place or a new beginning, it comes with a cost, people watching his every move, plotting on him, not knowing who to trust, it’s a lot of pressure on his head but still, he countinues to carry the boulders with no complaints.

“Fantasy” (feat. Jah)

The Ludacris flip caught me off guard at 1st, but the way Khali eases into it will send chills down the spine in an 80-degree bedroom. Khali sounds like he’s possibly on one, maybe in the club when he spots her from afar, lost in a trance with an infatuation for what his eyes are seeing & he can’t wait to get her home with him, maybe get comfortable with each other, learn more about you & what you want & he’ll do just that.

Jah being the only feature on here, brilliant move, by the way, paying homage in the best way possible to the early 2000’s classic, further reminding listeners of the timelessness of that record. The “Arthur” reference that opens up her verse is a witty, brilliant homonym with the show title & “author”, her voice evoking such passion, it’ll make your legs feel like an infant gazelle’s, rising the tension in a sensual slow burn, even defying logic, the night can go no wrong with her around.

“Down Bad”

I love that he did a record called “Down Bad” cause I know he’d be an excellent fit to the Dreamville camp; I can see it & once again, paying homage, even if subtly, to the artists who influence him to keep this drive that never seems to run low on horsepower.

He didn’t forget the times when he was “Down Bad,” not a penny to his name, not many in his corner, not many to trust enough to keep around him, having to piece everything back together on his own, it keeps him humble for what’s to come of his hard work & dedication to his craft.

He was destined for this, and there’s no going back to how it was before he got to this place & he’s playing no games, not anymore, he’s about his business & it’ll get violent if you try to take what is rightfully his, I don’t see why you would cause he’s not getting in the way of you working hard for a better life than you have now, only you are. Still, it doesn’t have to be that way, but once you get it, maintain it & don’t ever forget what it’s like to not have shit cause it can all be gone like that.

“Case Pending”

Consequential right out the prison gate, this is what it feels like to be monitored 24/7, excellent storytelling the way he weaves that sense of karma patiently waiting to get the antagonist in the end & unfortunately, it does, now a felon being forced or even enticed back into a life of crime, how else is there to make money this easily, until we catch you, Hank Schrader voice.

Duvin definitely got this one booming with his snarling production, which allows Khali to gently yet aggressively deliver this cautionary tale of what’ll come with the constant making of poor decisions & worse, never learning from those mistakes & applying what you gain from it to something more productive cause they’re always watching, waiting for you to slip up so they can book you or leave you fighting a case till you’re powerless, they anticipate it.

“Riverdalien”

What a way to end things, so poignantly bittersweet & why must you make my tears jerk with that opening line Khali, I needed it but man, I can hear the pain in your voice as you gently speak to us through your poetry in motion, that of which I hope it stays in forever, never ending inertia cause that’s time after all, it never stops for anyone, just keeps going, timeless.

When Khali said he was down bad, he meant it, “I thought I hit my rock bottom but then I kept sinking,” but how he continues to power through the struggle only further adds to his resilience, never staying complacent with what he has, sure he’s grateful for what he has now, but there’s always more to gain, more to learn & he’s forever eager to attain those things, urging you never to let up, you don’t wanna be older & regret never taking a risk, life is a gamble but your betting on yourself & that’s the best person you can invest in.

Khali vows never to forget where he came from, no matter what state, venue, audience, he’ll never lose sight of where he came from, a “Riverdalien” at heart & for that, to me, he’s just a man of the people, a therapist of sorts cause music can be powerful & he knows how to make it that way through his truth, it’s all he knows so that’s what he writes & as a result, people will forever feel him for it, a true hometown hero. - Anthony Colunga

What Khali & Duvin managed to do with this sequel is what most artists only wish to accomplish cause it is not easy to follow up a significant body of work with part two, but they were willing to take that risk & it more than pays off in the end.

If you don’t mind me being a bit intimate here, I hope this bond between artist & producer never breaks; there’s something about an artist just locking in with one producer & both of them complementing each other effortlessly yet forever finding their sound cause the duo can only continue to expand more & more outside their box & as always, the intentions are still good, give them some credit

It was a poor decision whoever decided it was a good idea to restrict Khali’s twitter account for speaking out against the Breonna Taylor case, especially being that his intentions were clearly for the greater good but it’s gonna take more than that to bring about silence.

Along with the breakdown of the album, we got to speak with King Khali about the process of his album and how it may have been different from his first installment. Enjoy in reading about the Riverdalien and his endeavors while you get to keep the album in rotation

First off give us your take on how this album creative process was different from its predecessor?

With this project, I actually locked in with just Duvin. The first Poor Decisions was really me recording with my engineer Marcus mainly. So I would just use the beats Duvin would send me and that was it. This time, we made a couple beats together basically. You can tell we worked together more on this one.

Your first album was told in a story concept about personal troubles and some of the things that occurred after, what was some of the inspiration that came up during writing for part 2?

Well I recently got off probation this year resulting from the incident. That was the initial motivation behind it. I talk about things that happened in my teenage years, and even a story involving a friend that falls in the theme of the project itself.

You mentioned that probation ended for you during quarantine (which congrats by the way), was this album finished before then or was it something that needed to be completed during the same rime?

I had recorded maybe 2 songs by the time I had got off probation, not knowing I’d make another PDGI. It wasn’t until maybe May when I said okay, this would be great for my day one fans. And I wanted to do it right, so I pushed the date back a few times.

The album only has one feature and that is from female emcee Jah, how did that come about and was there a reason she was the only feature on the project?

When I was making Fantasy, I didn’t know what I’d make the hook at first. Shoutout to Ludacris for inspiring me. After I finally laid the hook down, I thought about how I needed a woman on it as well. I kid you not, the only voice I could hear on it was Jah’s. Her voice was made for that beat. As far as intending to only have one feature, not at all. But I like how it turned out lol.

The album is sounding a bit more of redemption than its first installment where you dwell into the consequences, have you experience any personal growth from time you made the EP to now where you haven’t mentioned throughout the album?

I feel like I’ve experienced so much growth over my time on probation. I was going through a lot and somehow kept my composure through it all. I even got to have a few conversations with my father. They set it up to where you almost have no choice but to mess up again and stay in the system. Not me though, I can’t live like that all my life.

Before the album was released, you & duvin gave the notion that Case Pending would be the favorite of the album and while I did enjoy it myself very much, was this the record that stood out to y’all the most or did you have another one in mind?

I really love Case Pending because not only did we come up with that beat together and record on it right after, but the story telling is just amazing. I also love Down Bad. It gave me the same feeling as when I made Basement like 3 years ago. And my dad is the one talking at the end lol. He was telling me so many things that night that I was like man I gotta record this.

We’re there any leftovers meant for the album that didn’t make it and if so would those be heard in a deluxe format in the future?

Honestly there weren’t too many left over, but I will say I made a song with Aj Bray that was originally gonna be on it. It wasn’t until I made Case Pending that I was like, maybe this would be better as a loosie or something.

Is the end of your story for Poor Decisions, Good Intentions or will there be a third installment somewhere in the future?

I think this is the end. I don’t think I’d make it a promise just yet, but going into this one, I approached it as if it would be the last PDGI.

Are you set with the Riverdalien being your nickname instead of the best rapper under 25 or are there any others you want to give yourself?

Lol honestly if people called me that I’d love it! I turn 25 at the end of October so I’m gonna need something new. That might just be it, the Riverdalien.

Tell us more about your storyboard post preview that you did on IG? What was the meaning behind it?

Basically, I wanted to hint that there would be a new PDGI when I walked in front of the house. The post with the board was meant to be one of those investigation boards detectives use to connect things. To show that we’re back at it again lol.

Why was the lyrical lemonade post printed out but not the Wavez (kidding you don’t have to answer that one, that’s just for laughs lmaoo)

😂😂😂😂😂

Linking with Duvin again to continue on y’all successful catalog you’ve collected over the years, do you have any favorite (not including this album) y’all did that you try to overtop?

I will always love Basement, the first PDGI outro is legendary, but Next Man might be the one I look at as our best song outside of this project. I feel like after people hear this though, they might have new favorites.

If you want one thing for someone to take away from this album, what would it be?

I honestly want people to see the progression me and Duvin have made together over the years. I want aspiring artists to realize that a very good route is to grow together with a producer and craft your sound that way. Of course I work with and are friends with a lot of producers, but me and Duvin started together. The connection is just different when we lock in. And I’m very proud of him.

The year is almost up, are we expected to see anything maybe last minute from you? Possible a collaborative EP, a visual or two? Maybe even a few features?

Videos are being made for sure. I already have 2 for this project and I want at least 2 more. I can’t say I’m dropping another project before the year is over because I might push it back to get the right sound like I did this one. Videos are being created for sure though.

What is next for King Khali? What do you hope to accomplish in the near future?

I’m working on multiple projects honestly. Next year I’m definitely dropping more music than I ever have in a year span. Hopefully when things get back to normal as far as shows, I want to perform at Mala Luna. I have quite a few plans actually, but I want to be about it rather than just talk about it. So we’ll see what comes about!

The Deep End w/ King Khali in Poor Decisions, Good Intentions 2