King Khali & Sage - Serenity (EP)
If you’ve been asleep this entire time then you’re surely to awaken once Sage’s production seeps into your ears. Immediately his soundscapes enlighten listeners with a sense of clarity of what’s about to occur once Khali stars speaking, I mean, it’s safe to say we all know that this man only talks when he has something worthwhile to say, which only allows his words to hold that much more weight, that much power to them. On the opening title track, Khali immediately distances himself from others in this game, as he should cause they are not cut from the same cloth, he wants the respect whereas they want the fame, he faces his problems with a fearless stare whereas they break down & cry in their little corners & it’s not that Khali doesn’t empathize, he’s experienced a lot of things that should’ve broken him down but ultimately didn’t cause he chose to not allow it to.
Hearing him share details about his life is always a pleasure to hear, I don’t think many artists in our city do introspection quite like he does. He shares a bittersweet story on this opening track about how his cousin caught a stray in his eye & how he was too young at the time to understand why he was rocking that eye patch, he just thought the shit was fly growing up. It’s a miracle to make it past 25 where he comes from & he’s been lucky enough to reach said feat so he’ll be damned if he doesn’t live his life to the fullest cause what’s the point in surviving if you’re not. I love how he also takes time to point out his people’s struggle with faith, even shedding light on certain hypocrisies within the Church & of course, at some point, we all must suffer penance for our worldly ways.
It wouldn’t be a piece of work by Sage without at least some contribution from his collaborative counterpart Reek, who offers another smooth hook that’s concise yet chock full of some real spill on “40 Acres”. Khali imagines a world where his people don’t have to live in fear all the time, a place where parents can actually raise their kids while also taking accountability for his complicity, it’s not like the judge was wrong about him being a menace but he’s grown far past that past version of himself so there’s no need to keep throwing the book at him. It’s not entirely his fault, it’s just the circumstances he was under, as well as a lot of young kids just like him who grew up without the proper guidance. I even love how he continues to theme of sex in the following bars, it’s like a history lesson he’s teaching here with this record, really just a lesson period as he shares his intuitiveness & wisdom with us.
On “Sign Here”, Khali takes aim at shady record deals that artists continuously manage to get stuck in, even after seeing example after example & a lot of ones Khali mentions here are stories that I wasn’t too familiar with & that’s always good when you can walk away from music actually learning something. Sage’s production once again just keeps pulling your spirit further away from your body with his work, it’s subtle, groovy & just flat out infectious, it’s easy listening at it’s finest & we even get a little comedy with the skit towards the end. We then get into “Fist High”, the lone single off this EP which garnered the response it so deserved due to the powerful messages spoken throughout by all three of these leaders of ours, I wouldn’t even call records like this political, it’s simply them expressing their respective truths.
Sage’s work on “Serenity” once again proves how much he continues to ascend with his sound & on “Therapy”, we get something much more poignant from him & it acts as the perfect carpet for Khali to hover above like the guru he is & speak his therapeutic musings with such vulnerability, a trait of his that is very much appreciated. His selflessness as well cause he ain’t just speaking about him, he continuously talks about his people just as much on this EP & it hurts him more than they could ever know having to witness this shit & not be able to do much about it but it doesn’t mean he ain’t gonna continue doing what he can to at least shed light on these ills.
The reflecting don’t stop once “Nostalgia” creeps in with Khali finally reaching that sense of peace within himself, no longer concerning himself with things & people that no longer serve him the way they may have once did. He’s now doing much better since deciding to live in the present & he’s right, it is funny how we associate “back then” with being “better times” in our lives cause personally, as much as I miss a lot of those days, I wouldn’t go back if I could or do anything different, I highly doubt Khali would do the same cause everything he’s done & endured has lead him to this point of “Serenity” & it’s clear he’s there to stay moving forward & will not allow any negative energies to infiltrate his peace of mind, let’s just hope we aren’t too far behind him.